


Wingfeather Falls

by Mozart_the_Meerkitten



Series: Wingfeather Falls Crossover [1]
Category: Gravity Falls, The Wingfeather Saga - Andrew Peterson
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Dragons, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Gravity Falls Oregon, I have no idea what's happening here, Podo is alive for REASONS, Post Warden and the Wolfking, Post-Weirdmageddon, Shenanigans, Siblings, Stan O' War II, The Shining Isle of Anniera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26642155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mozart_the_Meerkitten/pseuds/Mozart_the_Meerkitten
Summary: When Ford and Stan take Dipper and Mabel out on the Stan o’ War II they accidentally get sucked through a portal and find themselves in the land of Aerwiar. Specifically, in the sea near the Isle of Anniera.Meanwhile, Artham Wingfeather finds himself sucked through the same portal into the strange town of Gravity Falls Oregon, with no idea how to get back home.
Series: Wingfeather Falls Crossover [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966000
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. In which there is a switch

**Author's Note:**

> I just thought the characters in the Wingfeather Saga and Gravity Falls would get along really well. Written for myself and literally one other person so if you randomly find this I hope you enjoy.  
> None of this is proofread, take it as it is.

There was a blinding flash of light and suddenly everything was weightless.

Then the Stan o’ War 2 crashed into the sea and soaked them all with saltwater.

Dipper coughed. “What was that?!”  
“It was a portal!” said Ford, his eyes wide. “But what… how…”  
“So where are we?” asked Stan, looking around and trying to shake the water off himself.  
Mabel’s excited cry answered him. “THERE’S AN ISLAND! LAND HO, LAND HO!”

Stan grunted and shook his head. “Guess we’ll have our answer soon enough. C’mon, Sixer, let’s take this boat in.”

****

Artham Wingfeather was falling.

One moment he had been soaring through the skies above the sea around Anniera.

The next moment he had been thrown unceremoniously into a painfully bright light, his senses too confused to tell what was up or down.

And now he was falling.

With a cry he beat his mighty wings against the air and hovered, trying to catch his breath.

_‘Where am I?’_

A quick look at the ground below showed him that he was no longer above Anniera. In fact, he realized with a slight stab of panic, he wasn’t even sure he was in Aerwiar anymore.

The buildings below him were square and stocky, with a great road traveling between them. Strange, bright creatures rolled along the road, and humans wearing odd clothing wandered along beside it. Some of them walked into the buildings, others stopped to chat with one another, and that was the only normal thing he could pick out in the strange town.

He turned, hoping, somehow, to see the Dark Sea of Darkness and Anniera behind him, but only blue sky and distant cliffs greeted him. His heart sank.

He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. There was nothing for it. He would have to go into the town and find out where he was.

But first, he needed a way to disguise his wings.

His keen eyes scanned the land below him and finally picked out what looked like a massive heap of junk shoved to one side of the town. There had to be something in there he could use.

So, that was where he flew.

****

“Woooow, what is this place?”

Mabel was bouncing in place as she surveyed the small seaside town before them. Dipper couldn’t fault her enthusiasm, wherever this place was it was _amazing_.

The dock was full of small ships with real sails and no motors. The people walking around, looking at the Pines family with confusion, were dressed in what looked almost like old-timey pirate costumes. The wharf turned into a small town with a little square and a group of buildings clustered around it. The air was filled with the smell of saltwater and baking bread. In the distance, Dipper could see green hills dotted with little cottages. It was if they had stepped back in time.

“Welp, this is weird,” said Stan at the same time Ford said, “This is fascinating!”

The older twins exchanged a look, and Dipper snorted, but he didn’t have time to savor the moment. Mabel had already darted off and was headed towards the square.

“Mabel!” he yelled, chasing after her. Behind him he could hear his grunkles following.  
“Look at this,” said Mabel, waving her hands. “There’s a bakery and an inn and- look, Dipper, grunkle Ford, there’s even a bookstore!”  
Dipper’s mouth fell open when he saw the bookstore. “Wow, these people have sure got their priorities right.”

“I suppose it’s only right for us to explore for scientific reasons,” said Ford, in the most serious voice he could muster.  
“Wait a second, Pointdexter,” said Stan. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  
“What? Afraid of being the tourist who gets scammed, Stanley?” said Ford, grinning.  
Stan rolled his eyes. “It happened _once_ , let it go. What I’m talkin’ about is that we just went through a portal! Aren’t you concerned about that?”  
Ford frowned. “Well, I suppose I’m just rather desensitized to the fact, since it’s happened to me so much. Still,” he sighed. “You may have a point, Stanley. Kids, maybe we should- kids?!”  
“Aw, shoot,” muttered Stan. “Where’d the little rascals get to?”

Dipper and Mabel, sensing the fact that their grunkles may be coming to the sensible conclusion that they should get back onto their boat until they knew what was going on, had scattered to investigate the shops. Dipper had gone to the bookstore, while Mabel had wandered into the bakery.

Mabel sniffed the air contentedly, and walked up to the counter of the little shop, where various sweets were on display. She was busy drooling over them when she heard a soft voice coming closer.

“Thank you so much, Rosa!” said a girl’s voice. “It’ll be really helpful to have this next time there’s a festival!”  
“Of course, I’m always happy to share what I’ve remembered of the old times,” a woman replied. “Now, where’s your brother got to?”

A small girl with blond hair and a crutch under one arm limped out of a back room accompanied by a kind looking woman wearing an apron. The girl clutched a paper in one hand and smiled at Mabel when she saw her.

“Hello,” said the girl. “I like your sweater.”  
Mabel glanced down at her sweater, which was bright pink and had a picture of a dog stitched into it. “Thanks! I like your crutch, what’s it say on it?”  
The girl grinned. “Batwhacker.”  
“Neat!” Mabel grinned back. “Sure looks like it’d be helpful for whacking bats.”  
The girl nodded sagely. “It is.”  
“My name’s Mabel,” she said, sticking out a hand.  
The girl tucked her paper into a pocket of her dress and took Mabel’s hand. “I’m Leeli.”

A loud burp sounded from somewhere off to the side, and a skinny boy with dark hair dashed over to them, arms clutching a poorly wrapped cloth filled with sweets. “Hey Leeli!” he called.  
Leeli rolled her eyes. “And that’s my brother, Kal.”  
“You have a brother? I have a brother too!” said Mabel.  
“I have two brothers,” said Leeli.  
“Nice! I just have one, but he’s my twin.”  
“Made a friend, Leeli?” asked Kal as he popped a tart into his mouth.  
“Yeah. Kal, this is Mabel.”  
“Nif to meef you,” said Kal, grinning around his mouthful of tart.  
Leeli pulled a tart out of the bundle and offered it to Mabel. “Want one?”  
“Sure!” she took a bite of it and beamed. “It’s amazing.”  
Leeli giggled. “Well, Kal and I should probably go find our brother. He’ll worry if we take too long.”  
“If he hasn’t lost his head in some book, anyway,” said Kal, his mouth not currently full of food.  
“Is your brother at the bookstore too?” gasped Mabel. “That’s where mine went!”  
“Well,” said Leeli, grinning. “Then I suppose we might as well find them together.”


	2. In which there are many Unexpected Meetings

When Janner heard the bell to the bookstore jangle he looked up and expected to see Leeli and Kal standing there, about to rush in and tell him it was time to hurry up and go. He did not expect to see a boy his own age wearing shorts, a vest and a strange hat walk in and stare with unrestrained excitement at the shelves of books before him.

He probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought if the boy wasn’t dressed so strangely. The hat especially was throwing him off. Was that a pine tree on it? And why was it shaped so strangely? Janner tried to go back to reading, but he couldn’t focus anymore. So, with a sigh, he shut the book and stood.

The boy hadn’t gone very far. He was excitedly flipping through a book on flabbits that Janner remembered Oskar bringing from the Great Library the last time he visited. Janner slipped up beside him, a small smile on his face.

“Ever read Pembrick’s Creaturepedia?” he asked.  
The boy jumped so hard Janner had to stifle a laugh. Kal would have loved it. He hadn’t really meant to sneak up on the other boy, but Durgan training died hard.  
“Oh, er, no, I haven’t,” said the boy. “What’s it about?”  
“It’s studies on all the strange creatures of Aerwiar,” said Janner. “There’s a copy around here somewhere if you’re interested.”  
“I am always interested in learning about strange creatures,” said the boy.

Janner grinned and led him further into the bookstore. He leaned up and grabbed the book off the top shelf and handed it to the boy.

He took it eagerly and started flipping through. “Whoa! This is so cool! These look like some of the creatures we have back home.”  
“Yeah? Where you from?” asked Janner.  
“Oh, er, well, I’m from Piedmont California,” said the boy. “But, uh, I guess what I meant is they look like creatures from Gravity Falls, where my great uncles live.”  
Janner frowned. He’d never heard of either of those places. “Cali-forn-ya?”  
The boy looked up at him, mirroring Janner’s confused expression. “Er, yeah, um, by the way, where are we now? We- my family- our ship kinda got blown off course.”

Janner lifted his head just a bit and stood a little straighter. “You’re on the Shining Isle of Anniera,” he said proudly. Then he added, “It’s in the Dark Sea of Darkness, not far from the Green Hollows.”

The boy blinked. “Ohhh, right, of course, the ah, the Dark Sea of… Darkness and the Green Hollows. Right, yeah, that, that clears it up.”  
Janner bit his lip to keep from smiling. “You have no idea where you are, do you?”  
“No!” said the boy pressing his hands to the side of his head.  
Janner snorted. The expression of frustration and distress was like looking in a mirror. “Don’t worry, I know the place with the best maps in the whole island.”  
“Really?” the boy lowered his hands and looked more hopeful. “Maps?”  
Janner nodded, grinning. “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Janner.”  
“Dipper,” said the boy.  
Janner nodded, but before he could say anything else the door of the shop swung open and the bell rang wildly.

“Diiiiippppeeerrrr! Where arrrrrre you?” called a girl’s voice.  
Janner raised an eyebrow. Dipper sighed. Before either of them could say anything though another voice called out into the store.  
“Janner! Are you ready to go yet?”

Janner glanced at Dipper and again saw his feelings mirrored in the other boy’s face. “Soo, is that your sister then?”  
“Yeah, Mabel,” said Dipper. “Is that your brother?”  
“Yep, Kalmar,” Janner shook his head. “So, want to come with us and find those maps I was talking about?”  
“Yes!” Dipper punched the air, then paused. “Um, can I take this book with me?”  
Janner grinned. “Absolutely.”

****

“Where did those kids get to?” grumbled Stan, checking behind the shops at the pier.

He and Ford had split up, hoping it’d be easier to find Mabel and Dipper. Stan hoped his brother was having better luck, because he hadn’t even found a speck of glitter yet to show Mabel had run through.

“This town ain’t even that big, how’d we manage to lose them?” he muttered.  
“Thought they were supposed to meet us down here, the rascals, where’d they run off to?”

Stan stopped when he heard a voice that apparently was having the same troubles he was. He slipped around the corner of the shop and nearly ran into a burly bearded man who was probably a pirate.

“Whoa,” Stan took a step back. “Sorry there.”  
The man waved a hand dismissively. “It’s alright. Say, you haven’t happened to have seen three kids wandering around have ye? Two boys an’ a little girl with a crutch.”  
“Nope. You haven’t happened to see two twins running around, have you? Boy and a girl, ‘bout this big?”  
The man snorted. “No, but I’m glad to see I’m not the only one around here losing my grandchildren. Just means I’m not losing my mind, if ye know what I mean.”  
Stan laughed. “Yeah, I know what you mean. They ain’t my grandkids though, they’re my great niece and nephew. My brother and I tried to take ‘em sailing and got lost instead. Figured we’d come in here and try and figure out where we are.”

Stan knew he probably shouldn’t be telling strangers they were lost (or that his niece and nephew were missing) but he had immediately decided he liked this man, and somehow he felt he could trust him too.

“Well maybe I can help ye with getting’ back on course,” said the man. He stuck out a hand. “Podo Helmer, at yer service. I sailed these waters for years when I was a young ‘un.”  
“Stan Pines,” he said, taking the hand. “Nice to meet a fellow sailor. That where you got your leg chewed off?” he nodded at the man’s peg leg.  
Podo chuckled. “Aye. Somewhere around here I got me old leg bone. Quite a story that, though not the most cheerful.”  
Stan sobered a little. “Yeah, I get that. So, how’s about the two of us see if we can find our missing kids, and then maybe you can help me and my brother figure out where we are.”  
Podo grinned. “Aye, sounds like a plan to me.”

****

Artham landed silently among the piles of wood glass and rusty metal, pulling his wings in tight against this back. He hadn’t seen anyone here before he landed, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. He wasn’t sure how the people here would react to him having wings, so it was better to just try and look as normal as possible until he found a way to hide them. He scanned the junk heaps. All he really needed was a piece of fabric, a tarp or an old sheet or-

Movement. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something moving a short ways away. His heart started to pound, and he felt his muscles tense.

_‘It’s probably just an animal of some kind, Artham, calm down.’_

If this place hadn’t been so strange, if he had been at home, in Anniera or Glipwood Forest, he would have been calmer. But this land, wherever it was, had him on edge. So, because he knew it was better to just confront the unknown, he crept forward towards where he had seen the thing.

He was about to skirt around one of the piles of metal when something popped up out of it at him.

Artham shrieked and his wings instinctively shot out in a literal fight or flight response. _‘So much for being subtle.’_ He heard a startled yell and scrambled back.

He tripped over something, and hit the ground. He winced and looked up, trying to spot whatever (whoever?) had startled him.

His eyes finally landed on a scruffy old man standing atop one of the piles of junk, looking just as distinctly alarmed as Artham felt.

Artham swallowed and pulled his wings in a bit. “Um, hello.”


	3. In which the Children Abandon their Elderly Relatives

Ford, as it turned out, had not had any more luck than Stan had finding the kids, but when they found him he was in an animated discussion with a portly gentleman who appeared to only have one small wisp of hair left on his head.

Ford was eagerly pointing at something in one of his journals and the man next to him was nodding along, looking equally excited. Stan sighed.

“Great, Ford found another nerd. Just what we need,” he muttered.  
Podo glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “That’s Oskar. He’s a friend of my family,” he glanced back to the scene in front of them. “That must be your brother, then?”  
Stan nodded. “Unfortunately.”  
Podo chuckled. “Not surprised Oskar found him then. That man can sniff out a book from a mile away.”

Stan laughed with him and the two of them made their way towards the nerds.  
“Hey Pointdexter, did you forget we were lookin’ for the kids?” he called.  
Ford’s head jerked up, and he had the decency to look embarrassed for half a second before he started grinning.  
“Stanley, there you are! I was just telling Oskar here-”  
“Yeah, yeah, nerd stuff, I know. Can we find the kids already?”

Beside Ford, Oskar raised an eyebrow at Podo. “I take it you didn’t find the children either?”  
“No. An’ from what it looked like, Oskar, the bitties could have run right past ye without you noticing.”  
Oskar had the decency to look embarrassed for several seconds longer than Ford had. “Well I’m sorry, Podo, but I was fascinated by this fellow and his strange book, you see…”  
“Yes, yes, I see,” said Podo, waving his hand. “Now while you’ve been gossipin’ like an’ old woman I’ve found we have two more children we need to find, so we’d best be gettin’ serious about it.”  
“Yeah, what he said,” agreed Stan.  
“Alright, alright,” Ford snapped his journal shut. “This isn’t a big town, they can’t have gotten too far. We probably just missed them somewhere.”  
“Or they really did run past ye when ye weren’t lookin’,” said Podo accusingly.

****

This was, in fact, exactly what had happened.

While Oskar and Ford had stood outside the bookstore discussing Ford’s journal, the five children had slipped outside and dashed along the path behind the two men without even noticing them- or being noticed.

Janner led the way to the edge of town where a cart laden with crates and barrels sat waiting for them. He climbed up into the driver’s seat and grinned at the others.

“Well c’mon, hop in! We don’t have all day!”  
“We coullldd,” said Kal, hopping into the back of the wagon.  
Janner rolled his eyes. “Mama’s not going to let you argue your way out of this one, Kal.”  
Kalmar sighed. Leeli and Mabel hopped into the back with him. Janner leaned over and peered down at Dipper.  
“You can ride with me, if you want,” he said to the other boy.  
“Really?” asked Dipper, grinning.  
“Sure!” Janner grinned back. Dipper scrambled up beside him. “Aaand we’re off!”

The horses trotted along a trail through the hills. In the back, Leeli and Kal pointed out things to Mabel.

“You see those flowers?” said Leeli, pointing at the white flowers scattered around the hills. “When we first came here those were the only things growing.”  
“Wooow, they’re so beautiful,” said Mabel. “They’d make perfect flower crowns!”  
“Mhm!” Leeli grinned. “That’s what me and my friend Sara like to do with them. That and pick them and keep them in our rooms.”  
“Hey, hey look, there are our trees!” Kal jabbed a finger at a copse of saplings. “We planted those!”  
“Wow, really? They’re little baby trees,” said Mabel. “They’re so cute!”  
“They’re growing really well,” said Leeli, leaning on the side of the wagon.  
“And even better than those, we have fruit trees growing up at the castle!” said Kal. “They don’t actually have fruit on them yet, but mama says in a few years they will!”

“Wait,” Mabel sat straight up. “Did you say castle?!”  
Leeli grinned. “Yeah, it’s where we live.”  
“Woaaaaaaah! That’s so cool!” Mabel clapped her hands. “I can’t wait to see it!”

Up front, Janner hummed while Dipper sat beside him flipping through the Creaturepedia.  
“I’m gonna have to compare all these creatures to the ones in Ford’s journals,” he was muttering.  
Janner tilted his head. “Journals?”  
“Oh, yeah, my great uncle Ford, he studies weird creatures and anomalies and stuff and he writes down what he finds out in journals,” said Dipper. “I bet he’d love to read this book too.”  
“You’ll have to show me those journals,” said Janner. “As long as it’s okay with your uncle, of course.”  
“Oh, yeah, he doesn’t mind anymore, now that, you know, it’s not a matter of the end of the world or whatever,” Dipper froze, suddenly realizing what he’d said.  
Janner, however, merely nodded. “I’ve got a book written in old Annieran. It had information in it that helped us save the world once.”  
Dipper hesitated. “You saved the world too?”  
“Well, sort of,” Janner ducked his head. “It was kind of a group effort.”  
“Yeah, yeah, totally, I get that,” said Dipper. “Mabel and our friends and our great uncles saved the world once.”  
“Huh,” said Janner, looking at him curiously.  
“What did you save the world from?” asked Dipper.  
Janner shrugged. “My great uncle and his army of wolf, lizard and bat people.”  
Dipper blinked. “Oh wow. We saved the world from a demon and his army of bizarre beasts.”  
Janner grinned. “Bizarre beasts, I like that.”  
Dipper grinned back. “Thanks.”

“DIPPER!”

Dipper yelped and Janner jerked to the side as Mabel flung herself at them.  
“Dipper we’re going to a castle!” she said, beaming.  
“What- seriously?” Dipper’s eyes widened.  
Janner nodded. “Castle Rysen. It’s where we live.”  
“Wait, are you guys, like, a princess and princes disguised as normal people so that nobody knows who you are and asks for your autographs?” asked Mabel, eyes wide.

“We’re not exactly princes and a princess…” began Janner.  
“But you’re royalty?” gasped Mabel.  
“Even better,” said Kal. “I’m the king.”

“Whaaaaaaaaaat?!” Mabel waved her arms in shock. “You’re the _king_?!”  
“Yep,” said Kal, grinning.  
“Wait, but, aren’t you older?” asked Dipper, pointing to Janner.  
“Yeah, but in Anniera the oldest sibling is always a Throne Warden, and their job is to protect the king,” said Janner. “The second sibling is always the king or queen. They did it that way to try and prevent jealousy amongst the siblings.”  
“Huh, that’s actually really smart,” said Dipper. “Wait, but what if there’s twins, like me and Mabel?”  
“Then the older twin is a Throne Warden and the younger twin is the King,” said Janner. “That’s another thing we learned from our great uncle…”  
“Wait, so are you a princess?” Mabel asked Leeli.  
“Technically I’m a Song Maiden,” said Leeli. She grinned. “But yeah, pretty much.”  
“Oooooooh!” Mabel squealed, causing all the boys to cover their ears. “This is so exciting!”

“Wait till you see the castle,” said Kal, proudly.  
“It’s not finished,” added Janner. “But it’s pretty great so far.”  
“Wait, if it’s not finished- how long have you guys been living here?” asked Dipper.

“Ummm,” Kal shrugged. “Months?”  
“It’s been almost a year,” said Janner. “Actually, in most of the world it’s still winter, but in Anniera-”  
“All the flowers and leaves couldn’t wait to come out!” said Leeli eagerly. “They’ve been waiting nine years, after all.”  
“We really didn’t have much of a winter, actually,” said Janner. “It snowed, what, four times?”  
“Five if you count that one time it didn’t stick,” said Kal.  
“Wait, what do you mean, nine years?” asked Dipper. “What happened for nine years?”

The three siblings paused and glanced at each other, then Janner shrugged and looked ahead.  
“Nine years ago, Gnag the Nameless, who we found out was actually our great uncle, Davien, invaded Anniera and burnt it to the ground. We were just little kids, but we escaped with our mom and our grandfather. Then, for nine years Gnag burned the island and wouldn’t let anything grow on it, as revenge for something that never actually happened.”

Mabel and Dipper stared at him, eyes wide, mouths hanging open.

“Wow,” said Dipper. “That’s as wild as some of our family stories.”  
“What happened in your family?” asked Kal.  
“Welll, one of our great uncles, Ford, got sucked into a portal after a fight with his twin brother Stan. Then, Stan faked his own death and used the portal in his brother’s house to try and bring him back for thirty years, while also converting the house into a tourist trap called The Mystery Shack. It finally worked and he brought Ford back, but then we almost had the end of the world.”

Kalmar nodded. “Yeah, that sounds pretty crazy.”  
“What’s a portal?” asked Janner.  
“Well, er, it’s kinda like a door between one place and another, except it could open to a completely different place or time, or dimension,” explained Dipper.  
“Huh,” said Janner.  
“That’s almost like our secret door!” said Kal, grinning.  
“That we are not going to talk about,” Janner said quickly.  
“Oooooh, I like secret doors! We’re good at those!” said Mabel.  
“It leads down to the magic stones that live in the ground and give life to Aerwiar!” said Leeli.  
“LEELI!”  
Leeli smiled winningly at Janner, who was glaring daggers at her. “Oh come on, Janner, it’s not like they can get in it.”  
“Nobody’s allowed but Kal anyway,” grumbled Janner, turning back around.

They were quiet for a few moments, and then Janner spoke again, sounding less annoyed.

“Anyway, if you guys still want to see it, Castle Rysen is right beyond this next hill.”

Suddenly, Kal smacked himself in the head. “Oh, man, Janner!”  
“What?”  
“We forgot grandpa and Oskar!”

Janner jerked on the horse’s reins. At the same moment, Mabel and Dipper had a similar revelation.

“Grunkle Stan!” squeaked Dipper.  
“Grunkle Ford!” yelped Mabel  
“They’re still back at the dock!” they shouted in unison.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, fun fact, so Janner is the same age as Dipper and Mabel here (13, almost 14 for all of them). Kalmar is 12 and Leeli is 10. Just thought I should mention that somewhere,


	4. In which a small band forms in the Gravity Falls junkyard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE'S TOO MUCH FLUFF IN THIS STORY SO HAVE SOME ANGST (but not a lot because this is meant to be fun xD)

Artham stared warily at the small man perched on the junk heap. He had a short, scruffy beard and wore worn coveralls and a patched hat. He wasn’t wearing shoes, but he did have a pair of strange glasses with green lenses. The only comforting thing was that he looked just as alarmed to see Artham as Artham felt to see him.

There was something familiar about the man, but Artham couldn’t quite place what it was until he spoke.

“Well hi,” said the man. “Don’t usually see many people around here.”  
Artham sat up slowly. “I would imagine not.”  
“’Specially not people with wings.”  
Artham winced. Instinctively he pulled his wings closer to himself.

They stayed that way for a few moments before Artham spoke again.  
“So now what are we going to do?” he asked.  
“Well, I reckon I could invite you back to my house. Well, sort of my house, it’s a long story.”  
Artham blinked. “Are you sure?”  
The man shrugged. “Well it’d be nice to have some company.”  
Artham felt a pang in his chest. He nodded and stood slowly. “My name’s Artham.”  
“Fiddleford McGucket at yer service!” said the old man cheerfully. “Now c’mon, my house ain’t far from here!”

Artham scrambled after the man, who scuttled expertly among the trash heaps. In a few minutes they arrived at a small shack made of bits of metal and wood, and Artham felt a pang of familiarity in his heart again.

“You live here?” he asked quietly.  
“Sometimes,” said Fiddleford. “When I’m workin’ on a project it’s easier to stay down here then haul everything I need up to my other house. It ain’t much, but it keeps the rain off!”  
Artham nodded. “I built a house like this once. Well, actually I built it three times. I kept setting it on fire by accident.”  
Fiddleford cackled. “That sounds like somethin’ I’d do!” he walked over and set a pot on the stove and Artham sat down on an overturned bucket, looking around at the little house.

Memories sprang unbidden into his mind. He tried to force them away by thinking of other things, but here, in a place that was so like what had been his own home for nearly ten years… the memories simply refused to fade. He dug his nails into his hands and tried to hold on to some sliver of reality; when he went mad it disturbed even his family, but strangers didn’t usually react well to it…

“You alright?” asked Fiddleford.  
Artham shut his eyes and nodded, but his words wouldn’t agree. “Fim mine… I’m fine. It’s must jemories, memories, argh!”

He put his hands on the side of his head and heard himself mumbling something else nonsensical. This was bad, this was bad, this was bad, bad, bad, no, not now, no, no, no…

The fit passed. Artham came back to himself and realized he was lying on the floor. He scrambled into a sitting position and could feel himself shaking.

Fiddleford was sitting next to him, looking concerned.   
“S-sorry,” said Artham. “I, this happens sometimes, when I, remember things…”  
Fiddleford nodded slowly. “It’s hard rememberin’ things,” he said, quietly. “But it’s alright, happens to me too sometimes.”  
Artham frowned. “What, you mean, you… lose yourself?”  
Fiddleford nodded. “Yeah, my mind’s kind of a mess.”  
Artham smiled wanly. “So’s mine.”  
“Heh, so you want some tea? I think I’ve got tea somewhere here,” he stood and started rooting through piles of things. “Probably better than coffee now… aha!” he scrambled up triumphantly, holding a small box. He darted into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with two cups of tea. He handed one to Artham and sat down next to him again.

They sat in silence for a few moments and Artham tried to get his thoughts in order.

“So,” he frowned. “What- what happened to you then? That you’re not, well,” he chuckled nervously. “Disturbed by me?”  
“Well,” said Fiddleford, tilting his head. “I kinda lost it and erased my own memory about thirty years ago. Then, last summer some kids helped me get my memories back so I could start to remember who I am,” he grinned. “Kinda a long process though. I still don’t like wearin’ shoes.”  
Artham grinned a little. “I wore socks on my hands for about four years.”  
“That’s smart! Bet your hands never got cold,” cackled Fiddleford.  
“They weren’t exactly hands back then,” said Artham, rubbing his fingers together.   
“Yeah? What did you have then, claws?”  
The question was perfectly innocent, but Artham winced anyway. “Yes.”  
“Oh. Sorry.”  
Artham shrugged. “It’s alright.”  
“What- what happened?”  
“Well, I was captured and held prisoner,” said Artham. “The people had an affinity for combining animals and humans and I started the transformation, but couldn’t finish it. I lost my mind and ran away- I escaped, but my hands were claws,” he glanced up. “But, when I finally did finish the transformation- for the right reason this time- the claws went away and I got wings instead.”

“That’s a wild story you got there,” said Fiddleford.  
“Do you believe me?”  
“Sure! Ain’t got no reason not to!”

Artham smiled. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was comfortable enough with a man who was practically a stranger to share his backstory, but…

But the two of them weren’t really that different, were they? And it was nice to be able to talk to someone who understood. Of course, the former cloven in Anniera understood, but they didn’t have the same quirks as Artham did, not since they’d sung the song and become fully human again, so it was more difficult to talk to them than it should be.

“Hey, you like banjo music?” asked Fiddleford, bringing him out of his thoughts.  
Artham frowned. “What’s a banjo?”  
“What- what’s a banjo he asks! Well you’re about to find out!” Fiddleford sprang up and dashed off, returning with a stringed instrument that looked similar, but different, somehow, to ones Artham had seen before.

Fiddleford sat down and started to play. Artham felt his spirits suddenly soar with the cheerful music, and before he had time to think about it he had started singing along, changing songs he knew to fit the tune of Fiddleford’s playing.

The residents of Gravity Falls found that the junkyard was surprisingly musical that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I have no idea if they have banjos in Aerwiar, I mean they might but it's funnier for Artham to not know and for Fidds to pretend to be outraged by this.


	5. In which the children Send a Message

“Mama's gonna be so mad, we’re gonna be in so much trouble,” groaned Kal.  
“Can’t you just, I don’t know, order your mom to leave us alone?” asked Dipper.  
Kal snorted. “No.”  
“Kal might be the king, but mama’s the Queen,” said Leeli seriously. She looked back to her brothers. “Do you want me to talk to her? I wasn’t the one who was supposed to remember grandpa and Oskar, after all, I just had to get the recipe.”  
“Maybe? I don’t know,” Janner covered his face with his hands.  
“Do you think grunkle Stan and grunkle Ford are worried about us?” Mabel asked Dipper.  
“I mean, probably, how long have we been gone? Like, two hours or something?” Dipper climbed into the back of the wagon and started to pace as best he could. “Oh man I can’t believe we did this.”  
“I mean, we all just got distracted, it’s not like we meant to leave them,” reasoned Leeli. Then, suddenly, she sat bolt upright. “Wait! I know!”

Leeli scrambled out the back of the wagon and stood on the grass beside it. Then she started to sing something unintelligible.

“Is… is she okay?” asked Dipper.  
Janner bit his lip and tried not to grin. “Yeah.”  
“Well, what’s she doing?” Dipper tried again.  
Janner’s grin broke through. “You’ll see.”

They sat there, waiting as Leeli sang her strange song, when suddenly four shapes crested the hill before them. They charged forward and bowled into Leeli, barking and yapping cheerfully.

Mabel gasped in delight. “Dogs!” she sprang down from the wagon and ran over to them.  
“You are a princess!” she announced to Leeli as one of the dogs started to lick her as well. “You can summon animals! Even better, you can summon dogs!”  
Leeli giggled, beaming.

“You think that’s good,” said Kal. “You should’ve seen her in the Hollows! She could summon an army of dogs!”  
“An army?!” squeaked Mabel.  
“I still could,” said Leeli, wrapping her arms around two of the dogs. “But it upsets the Hollowsfolk when their dogs suddenly run off.”  
Mabel stared intently at her. “How?”  
Leeli grinned. “I know dogspeak.”  
“ _What_?! You mean dogs really do have a language?! I knew it! I told you, Dipper!”

Dipper sighed and folded his arms, but he was smiling a little. “Okay, okay, but how does this help us? I mean, it’s great, but…”  
“They can take a message to grandpa!” said Leeli. “And your uncles.”  
Dipper blinked. “Oh. Wait, what?”  
Leeli stood and brushed grass off her skirt. “They’re trained to take messages to the towns from the castle and then return with an answer. Oh, Janner, I’ll need a piece of paper.”  
“Thaaat’s actually really cool,” said Dipper.  
Mabel tugged on Leeli’s sleeve. “Pleeeaaaaaaseeee teach me to summon dogs!”  
Leeli giggled again. “Sure!”  
“Yesssssss!” Mabel threw her hands in the air and fell back to the grass with a happy _thump_.

Janner gave Leeli a piece of paper but then frowned as he patted himself down. “I might have lost my pencil…”  
“Oh here, you can use my pen,” said Dipper, handing it to him.  
Janner blinked and frowned at the device. “A… what?”  
“Oh, er, it’s, you just click it like this,” Dipper clicked the top. “And see? The tip comes out. There’s ink inside it that comes out when you write.”  
Janner stared at it with its mouth open. “That’s amazing.”  
“Lemme see!” Kal scrambled up and grabbed the pen, clicking it furiously.  
“Alright, alright!” Janner grabbed it back from him. “Here, Leeli.”

Leeli tore her paper in half and wrote two messages. She then pushed them into tubes on the dog’s collars, knelt down and looked into their eyes.  
“Find grandpa,” she told one. Then she looked at Mabel. “Do you have anything that belongs to your uncles?”  
“Just me and Dipper!” said Mabel cheerily, petting the heads of the other two dogs.  
Leeli snorted. She turned to her second messenger dog. “Find the men she belongs to,” Leeli told it.

The dog walked up to Mabel and gave her a good sniff, then he and the dog with Podo’s message ran off down the hill.

“What are the other two dogs for?” asked Dipper.  
“Oh,” Leeli smiled. “They just came because they like me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the life of me I could not remember the names of Leeli's dogs or how she summons them, so I took I guess when it came to the latter.


	6. In which Artham learns about Supermarkets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter was going to come later in the story, but I just really felt like writing it now, so I did. xD

“So what exactly are we doing?”

Artham was following Fiddleford down the “sidewalk” that followed the road. They had found an old canvas tarp in the dump and, with a bit of quick stitching, Artham had turned it into a cloak. He still looked odd, but less so than he would have if people could see his wings.

“We need to get us some more vittles if you’re gonna be stayin’ with me,” said Fiddleford.  
“Well, I mean, I don’t want to bother you, I can camp out somewhere if-”  
“Aw it ain’t no trouble. Besides, like I said it gets kinda lonely workin’ on stuff by myself all the time.”

Artham swallowed hard and nodded. “Right then. So… where is the market in this town? I didn’t see one when I was flying around yesterday.”  
“It’s just right around the corner here, right- there!”

Artham looked at the building Fiddleford pointed at and frowned, tilting his head. “It’s inside?”  
“Yep!”  
Artham shook his head. “What a strange place this is.”

The two of them walked up to the front of the building and Artham stopped short. “Uh, Fiddleford, those are windows. Where’s the door?”  
“These are doors!” Fiddleford trotted up to them and, with no warning, they parted in the center and pulled back. Artham jumped and his eyes widened.  
“Is it- are they magic?”  
“Nah, here, c’mere,” Fiddleford waved him over. “See, they run on this little track here, and over here,” he pointed at a box on the wall. “Is what controls ‘em! See inside here,” he produced a screwdriver and opened the box. “Are all sorts of wires and-”

“McGucket! Get away from that!”

A man thundered out of the store, brandishing a broom. Artham was so shocked that he didn’t have time to react before the man whacked Fiddleford on the head with it. With a shriek, Fiddleford dashed behind Artham, who held up his hands towards the man with the broom.

“Woah, woah, what are you- what do you think you’re doing?!” demanded Artham.  
“That darned hillbilly is always skulking around town causing trouble,” snapped the man with a broom. “And now he’s out here trying to break my doors!”  
“He was only showing me how they worked,” said Artham, folding his arms. “We only came here to buy some food, not damage your property.”  
“Well he’d better not be showing you how anything else in my store works, or I’ll have you both thrown out!” then, without another word the man stormed back inside.

Artham took a deep breath and unclenched his fists. Fiddleford had insisted he leave his sword back at the shack, but he was confident he could have handled the man in a fistfight.

“Are you alright?” he asked Fiddleford, who had climbed up onto his back and was peeking over his shoulder.  
“Yeah,” said his friend in a tired sounding voice. “I’m used to folks treatin’ me that way. But thanks for standin’ up for me! Nobody really does that.”  
Artham set his jaw and nodded, blinking moisture out of his eyes. “Of course.”

He remembered plenty of times where he’d been treated similarly. Over time the Glipfolk had gotten used to him, and most of them treated him decently, but he was never guaranteed such decency from the Fangs or the visitors and vendors who came for the yearly Dragon Day Festival.

He took another breath and nodded. “Alright, I suppose…” he walked up to the window-doors and stood in front of them, slightly nervous.  
“Just walk right at ‘em, pretend they ain’t there,” said Fiddleford, still clinging to his back.  
Artham lifted his head and strode towards the doors. They parted for him and he found himself in some sort of entryway. Directly in front of him was a brightly colored space the size of a large ballroom, lined with shelves and covered in signs and bright colors.

“We’re gonna need a cart,” said Fiddleford, pointing at a row of metal baskets on wheels. With a little effort, Artham pulled one away from the rest and stood holding the steering bar, not quite sure what to do next.  
Fiddleford scrambled off his shoulders and climbed into the cart. “Alright, just start walkin’ and I’ll grab stuff as we go by!” he said cheerfully.  
Artham shrugged. “Alright.”

They walked around the strange market like that for a while. Things were going perfectly smoothly until they went by a stack of boxes and Fiddleford pulled one right out of the middle of it, causing the whole thing to tumble spectacularly to the ground.

Unfortunately, the man with the broom from earlier (now sans broom) happened to be standing nearby when it happened.

“MCGUCKET!” he yelled.

“Uh-oh,” said Fiddleford, peering out of the cart. “Run!”

Artham complied. He steered them around the pile of boxes and sped through the store. He sped into the aisles, narrowly avoiding other people. Behind him he could hear the man shouting, along with Fiddleford’s muffled cackling from inside the cart. In spite of himself, he grinned.

It didn’t take Artham long to realize that if he got the cart going at a good speed he could hop up onto the bar below the basket and let it glide for a while. It was actually rather fun to speed through the aisles, whipping around corners and hearing the yells behind him get fainter. He wasn’t sure when he started laughing, but once he started he couldn’t seem to stop.

Finally, he slowed them to a halt, confident they’d lost their pursuer.

“Now what do we do?” he asked, breathless and grinning.  
“Well, I reckon we’d better go pay before that manager finds us,” said Fiddleford, looking up at him and grinning back.  
Artham nodded. “That’s probably the best option. I wouldn’t mind leading him on another chase if he happened to find us though.”  
Fiddleford cackled. “You’re faster ‘n a herd of angry cattle!”  
Artham chuckled. “It’s because I’ve met angry cattle. Ones with big, sharp pointy teeth,” he shook his head. “And it’s always better to be able to outrun those.”  
Fiddleford cackled again and beamed up at him. Artham grinned back as he started to steer their cart back to the front of the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite tropes is characters getting displaced from their world/time and having to deal with our modern world, so of course I had to do that with Artham.  
> Also I wanted an excuse to have Artham cart surf.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I have no idea how automatic doors work xDD


	7. In which the children play Hide and Seek with the Queen

Castle Rysen was more incredible than Mabel or Dipper could have imagined.

It was obvious that the castle was still under construction; there was a large courtyard with beams supporting the entrance into the castle, and two of the towers were obviously only half finished. Parts of the roof weren’t done yet, and only part of the wall was stone- the rest was just a wooden barricade.

Despite this, the castle seemed to shine in the fading afternoon light. Windows sparkled like gemstones, and the gardens in front of the courtyard were already in full bloom. It was obvious that when the castle was finished it would be utterly magnificent.

“Wooooooow,” said Mabel, her voice hushed. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”  
Dipper raised an eyebrow. “You said that about a shell you found on the beach earlier.”  
Mabel ignored him. “It’s so big! Do you guys have a big family, or do you just like secret rooms? Grunkle Ford must’ve liked secret rooms because we found them all over the Mystery Shack.”  
Janner blinked. “Um, well…”  
“Yeah, there’s secret rooms!” said Kal, eagerly. “And like, six passageways! Mama thought there used to be less, but uncle Artham said there were ones she just never knew about.”  
“And it’s not just our family that lives in the castle,” said Janner. “There’s also the workers and servants and random townsfolk…”  
“Yeah, since so many people still don’t have houses a lot of them just live in the castle,” said Kal.  
“Why don’t they have their own houses?” asked Dipper.  
“Well, we’ve been busy,” said Kal. “Building the castle, and it apparently takes a while to build towns, especially when Janner _insisted_ we have a bookstore in every one.”  
“Hey! You _know_ uncle Artham said there used to be a bookstore in every town. It’s Annieran tradition! We have to do it!” said Janner, turning to glare at his brother.  
“I mean, it seems like a pretty great rule to me,” said Dipper, grinning.  
“You’re just a bunch of nerds,” said Mabel.  
“What’s a nerd?” asked Leeli.  
Mabel pointed at Janner and Dipper. “Them.”  
Kal snorted and pointed at an accusing finger at his brother. “Nerd.”  
Janner rolled his eyes.

As they drew closer to the castle, the Wingfeather children started to get more fidgety. Instead of taking them up the main path to the courtyard, Janner pulled them away from the garden and down a path that led them to the stables. There, several people greeted the Wingfeathers and started to unload the wagon. The children climbed down and Janner led them inside the castle through a back door.

“Okay, so we just need to avoid mama until grandpa gets Leeli’s message and comes up to the castle,” said Janner.  
“At least then we’ll be in _less_ trouble,” said Kal.

Another voice spoke. “Or I could just find Nia and tell her you’re sneaking in the back.”

All five children jumped and turned to see a woman walk out of the shadows, not even trying to hide the grin on her face.

“Aunt Aurendelle,” said Janner, quickly. “I-uh, we can explain…”  
Aurendelle shook her head. “I’m joking, Janner, I won’t tell Nia you’re back. Not yet anyway,” her gaze landed on Dipper and Mabel. “Who are your friends?”  
“This is Dipper and Mabel!” said Kal, eagerly. “We found ‘em in town.”  
“They were sailing with their uncles and got lost,” said Janner. “So I thought I’d show them the maps we have.”  
Aurendelle nodded, but her grin faded. “Speaking of uncles and being lost, have any of you seen Artham anywhere?”

The children glanced at each other.  
“Not since this morning,” said Janner, frowning. “I think he said he was going flying.”  
“Yes, that’s what he said. It’s been hours though, and while it’s always possible he spotted a pirate ship and decided to deal with it I can’t help but worry about him,” said Aurendelle.   
“We could help you look for him,” suggested Leeli.  
“I wouldn’t want to take you away from helping your friends,” said Aurendelle. “But if you do happen to see Artham then tell him to find me at once.”  
“We will, aunt Aurendelle,” said Kal. He paused, then, “And you won’t tell mama we left grandpa and Oskar behind?”  
“I’ll give you at least fifteen minutes,” said Aurendelle, her smile returning. “But she’ll see the wagon soon. So make yourselves scarce!”

“Thanks aunt Aurendelle!” said Kal, grinning. He waved at the others to follow him. “C’mon, now’s a good time to show you some of those secret passages!”

****

Back at the docks, Podo had acquired a wagon to take him and the others to someplace called Castle Rysen. Stan figured a castle would be nice, but he was really starting to worry that something had happened to Dipper and Mabel. Ford, for once, seemed to share his concern, and he wasn’t even trying to document everything he saw in his journal. Instead he was looking around nervously, as if hoping the kids would pop up out of the woodwork (and, Stan knew, it was possible that they could).

Suddenly, there was a resounding BARK and a large, brown and white dog plowed into Stan and nearly knocked him over.

“Woah, what the?!” Stan stumbled back and glared at it. “What’s the big idea?”  
The dog sat down and stared up at him, cocking its head.

“That’s one of Leeli’s dogs,” said Podo, suddenly. Then, as if on cue, another dog trotted up to Podo and sat down docilely at his feet. Stan rolled his eyes.  
“There should be a message with ‘em,” said Podo, kneeling down and pulling out a rolled up piece of paper from a tube on the dog’s collar. Frowning, Stan bent down and did the same.

On the paper was scrawled in neat handwriting,

_Dear Mabel and Dipper’s grunkles,_

_Hullo, I’m Leeli Wingfeather. Your niece and nephew are safe with me and my brothers. They said they were lost so we decided to take them to Castle Rysen with us. We were almost there when they realized they’d forgotten to tell you what they were doing. Sorry! Follow the path out of the town into the hills and you’ll find the castle._

Ford had come up behind him and read over his shoulder. Stan looked over at him, but before either of them could say a word, Podo burst out laughing.

“What is it, Podo old boy,” said Oskar, coming up beside him.  
“They forgot us Oskar!” laughed Podo. “Janner and Kal and Leeli. Got so caught up meetin’ a pair of other children that they forgot all about us.”  
Stan looked at the note, then at Podo. “Wait, so our niece and nephew are with your grandkids?”  
“Aye, it appears so,” said Podo, shaking his head. “I guess we’d best go join them, then. Good thing I got us a wagon,” he grinned. “Well, hop in then, it’s not a far trip to Castle Rysen, but I’d like to make it there before supper.”  
“I’m with ya there!” said Stan, jumping into the back of the wagon. Ford rolled his eyes, but grinned as he followed. Oskar clambered in after him.

“Onward to Castle Rysen!” bellowed Podo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We may, at some point in this story, get everyone in the same place at the same time. But don't count on it. xD


	8. In which the children refuse to Stay Put

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thiiiiisss chapter accidentally got unexpectedly feelsy in the beginning, so, uh, apologies? It was bound to happen eventually... (The second part is just more shenanigans tho)

The children hid in one of the secret passageways until Leeli snuck out and returned with a report from Aurendelle that Podo, Oskar and the Stans had arrived at the castle.

“Aurendelle seems really worried about uncle Artham,” said Leeli, sitting back down with the others.  
“I’m sure he’s okay,” said Janner, trying to sound reassuring. “I’m sure he just flew around, saw something that needed investigated and hasn’t gotten back yet-”  
“Okay, wait, hang on,” said Dipper. “Flew _how_? Don’t tell me you guys have airplanes but not pens.”  
“Airplanes?” said Kal, tilting his head.  
“Uncle Artham has wings,” said Janner.  
“Wait, you mean, literal wings?” asked Dipper, his eyes widening.  
“Like a bird?” asked Mabel.  
“Yes,” said Janner.  
“What, but, how?!” sputtered Dipper.  
“Sing the song of the ancient stones and the blood of the beast imbues your bones,” said Kalmar. He stared down at the floor. “There were these magic stones that could mix people together with animals. Gnag- Davien- used them to make an army, called the Fangs.”  
“When Anniera was first attacked, Gnag captured our father and uncle Artham,” Janner continued, glancing at Kal. “He, um, he tried to get them to change, and they did… sort of. But they never completed the transformation and they escaped, but separately. Later they found out that if you sing the song to save someone, not for selfish reasons-”  
“The Maker blesses you, and you don’t lose your mind- unless it was already lost, like uncle Artham’s- and you stay who you are and transform,” finished Kal. “So now uncle Artham has wings.”

There was a long pause, then Mabel spoke, in a quieter more serious voice than she’d used the whole day.

“What happened to your dad?”  
The three Wingfeather children looked at each other sadly. It was Janner who finally spoke, voice wavering just a little.

“He died saving us. We would have been captured, and the war would have ended right there if he hadn’t- if he hadn’t…” Janner shut his eyes.

No one spoke for a long time after that.

It was Leeli who finally broke the silence. She stood, and scraped her crutch along the ground as she picked it up.  
“Let’s get out of here,” she said, firmly. “It’s too dark. Besides, it’s got to be getting close to suppertime.”  
Kal sat up a little straighter. “Food?”  
Janner snorted and shoved him.   
Mabel grinned. “I like this guy, he’s got his priorities straight.”

****

Because the Wingfeather children were still a little worried about their mom being angry with them (and by this point Dipper and Mabel were too afraid of her in theory to argue) the group snuck into the kitchen and then scurried back to Janner’s room. He promised the twins that he would show them the maps tomorrow (hopefully along with their uncles). After seeing the castle, Dipper and Mabel were not about to argue with him, and both silently decided to prolong leaving for as long as possible.

“Alright,” said Janner as they ate. “We really should try and figure out a plan to find uncle Artham. If he’s not back by now then something’s gone really wrong.”  
Kal swallowed and grinned just a little. “You know it’s serious when Janner’s suggesting crazy adventures. Usually that’s my job.”  
Janner raised an eyebrow at him. “It would be nice if you acted like it was serious.”  
Kal shrugged. “I mean, it’s uncle Artham. We’ve seen him attack a whole army of Fangs and live. He’ll be fine, unless…” he paused, frowning.  
“Mhm,” said Janner, looking pointedly at his brother.  
“What?” asked Dipper. “Unless what?”  
“Sometimes uncle Artham kind of goes crazy,” said Janner. “He can’t talk or think right, and well…”  
“He runs off,” said Leeli, picking at a loose thread on her dress. “He snaps out of eventually.”  
“But what if he crashed in the Dark Sea of Darkness or something!” said Kal, sitting up and nearly dropping his blueberry scone.  
“Do you really say “Dark Sea of Darkness” whenever you talk about it?” asked Dipper.  
“That’s its name,” said Kal, matter-of-factly.  
“Anyway!” said Janner. “Now you see why I’m worried.”  
“Well what are we gonna do then?” asked Dipper.  
“We could make a giant banner covered in glitter and hang it from the top of the castle like a beacon!” said Mabel eagerly from where she was multitasking eating and braiding Leeli’s hair.

“Orrrr,” Kal grinned. “We could borrow a ship and sail out to find him.”  
“We’d have to sneak out,” said Janner, cautiously.  
“Wait, wait, you didn’t immediately tell me no, Janner, are you feeling okay?” Kal leaned forward and pushed his face within an inch of his brother’s. Janner shoved him away.  
“I _am_ worried,” said Janner. “Uncle Artham doesn’t just leave without telling anybody unless something’s wrong.”

Mabel gasped. “Why don’t we take our boat!”  
“You mean our uncle’s boat?” said Dipper, raising an eyebrow.  
“Aw, they won’t mind if we borrow it. And it’s for a good cause!” said Mabel, starting to bounce in place again.  
“I mean, I don’t want you guys to get in trouble-” Janner began.  
“But if you insist,” said Kal, grinning.  
“Kalmar!”  
“What? You’re telling me you don’t want to sail a ship unsupervised, Janner?” Kal egged.  
“I’m saying we shouldn’t take a ship that isn’t ours to sail around,” said Janner.  
“But we don’t have a ship!” Kal reasoned. “And Dipper and Mabel do!”  
“Technically its our uncle’s ship-” Dipper tried.  
“But it’s fiiiiiine,” said Mabel. “They’ll understand.”

“Alright, alright,” Janner held up his hands and sighed. “We’ll take their ship. At least we know they won’t need it in the meantime.”  
“Yessssss!” cheered Kal and Mabel in unison.

Janner and Dipper sighed, in unison.

Leeli giggled.

****

Stan had been trying to locate his niece and nephew in the maze they called a castle when he heard children’s voices. He crept over to the door they were coming from and quietly eased it open enough to peek through.

There! Dipper and Mabel sat on the floor with three other kids who he could only assume were Podo’s grandchildren. The group was in a deep discussion of some kind. Stan was just in time to hear one of the boys say,

“We could borrow a ship and sail out to find him.”

Which immediately got his attention, because his niece and nephew were included in that “we” as far as he could tell.

He almost stepped in when he heard Mabel say, “Why don’t we take our boat!” but stopped himself. The kids argued about this for a while, but finally came to the conclusion that this was their best option for the mission they were planning.

Stan stepped away from the door and into the shadows of the hallway, frowning.

_‘A good responsible adult would stop them,’_ he reasoned. _‘So obviously I can’t do that.’_  
But, he also couldn’t let his niece and nephew sail out into uncharted waters alone, with only three other kids (could any of them even sail? He and Ford hadn’t gotten around to teaching Dipper and Mabel yet, and who knew about the other kids).

Which left only one sensible option. Stan sighed.

_‘I was really lookin’ forward to sleepin’ in a bed tonight.’_


	9. In which Stan finds himself responsible for Royalty

Early the next morning the four children used the secret passageways to sneak into the kitchen, gather some provisions, and sneak out of the castle. There, Janner and Kalmar hitched up a horse to a wagon like the one they’d rode in yesterday.

Their ride back to the seaside town was uneventful. They managed to be reasonably quiet, but they were all bolstered by the excitement of escaping without being caught. Janner and Dipper had left notes for their respective guardians so that it wouldn’t seem like the children simply vanished, but they were hoping that it would be some time before anyone found out they’d left.

When they neared the sea, Janner steered them away from the town and took the wagon nearly to the water’s edge. There, he and Kal unhitched the horse and tied it to a large rock.

From there, the children crept along the water’s edge until they reached the dock.

“This is so exciting!” said Mabel in a loud whisper.  
“Yeah, we’ve never stolen a boat before,” said Kal, grinning at Janner.  
“Shush, we’re not stealing it, we’re just borrowing it,” hissed Janner. “Now focus, would you? Dipper, which ship is yours?”  
Dipper squinted in the morning light. “There, that one. _The Stan o’ War II_.”  
“What happened to the first one?” asked Kal.  
“You’d have to ask grunkle Ford and grunkle Stan,” said Dipper.

They climbed up onto the dock and scurried along it until they reached the boat. All of them jumped inside, except for Janner, who untied the boat before hopping in.

“Alright, do either of you know how to sail?” Janner asked Dipper and Mabel.  
“Um…” Dipper shrugged. “Not really?”  
“But how hard can it be?” grinned Mabel.  
Janner raised an eyebrow. “Good think grandpa and uncle Artham have been teaching Kal and I then. Alright, does this thing have a mast?”  
“Er, no,” said Dipper. “It does have a motor though.”  
“What’s a motor?” asked Kal, cheerfully.  
“We’re doomed,” muttered Dipper, pulling down on the sides of his hat.  
“Now c’mon, sailors, don’t give up!” said Kal, clambering onto the top deck. “We can figure this out! Janner, you’re in charge of steering. Dipper, you’re in charge of words not even Janner knows like “motor”. Mabel and I will figure out how to use these ropes and stuff. Leeli, you’re our lookout.”  
Leeli grinned at him. “Aye, aye, Captain Tink. Now give me a hand up there.”

Kal hauled his sister up then hopped down and stood next to Mabel. “Alright, how hard do you think it will be to figure these out?” he asked, holding up a rope.  
“I have no idea! But I believe in us!” yelled Mabel.  
“Yeah!” cheered Kal. “I like your enthusiasm!”

Janner, who was watching them from behind the wheel, snorted and shook his head. He turned to Dipper. “Alright, so the motor, how’s that work?”

****

Unfortunately, things were always more complicated than anyone, especially an eager, 12-year-old king, could anticipate.

They managed to steer the ship into the Dark Sea, but the motor was something Dipper called, “stalled” and they couldn’t figure out how to get it working again. Leeli whacking it with her crutch didn’t help. Thus, the ship was slowly turning in circles and drifting gradually further from Anniera.

“What kind of ship doesn’t have sails?!” grumbled Janner, trying to right their course.  
“Oh gosh, we didn’t bring enough food for this, what if we get pulled out into the open sea and marooned on a deserted island?!” Dipper said, starting to panic.  
“I’m more worried about getting pulled to Dang and being smashed against the shore,” said Janner.  
“Don’t worry, guys, I’m sure we’ll be okay!” said Mabel, though even she sounded slightly strained.

“Of course you will be!” said a sudden gruff voice from belowdecks. “Because your grunkle Stan was smart enough to not let you go off by yourselves!”

Stan popped out of the hatch that led below, accompanied by several startled yelps from the assembled children.

“Grunkle Stan!” chorused Dipper and Mabel, running over to hug him once he had climbed onto the deck.  
“How did you know we’d be here?!” asked Dipper, sounding deeply relieved.  
“A man has his ways, Dipper,” said Stan, ruffling his nephew’s hat.  
“Now you can meet our new friends!” said Mabel, tugging on his sleeve. “Look! That’s Kalmar, and up there’s Leeli, and Janner is steering the ship!”  
“He’s doing a pretty rotten job of it,” said Stan, folding his arms.  
“Well it’s not my fault your ship doesn’t have sails!” countered Janner.  
“Alright, alright, I’ll give you that, it’s one of her few failings,” said Stan, waving a hand. “Now, why in the world are we going in circles?!”  
“The engine stalled,” said Dipper.  
Stan raised an eyebrow. “Did you try hitting it?”  
“Yes!” called Leeli.  
“Hm,” said Stan, walking over to the engine in question. “Well that’s just rude of it.”  
“Can you fix it?” asked Kal, running up and peeking over his shoulder.  
“Of course I can, kid! Just gimme a few minutes,” said Stan.

While he worked, Mabel saw fit to bring Stan up to speed on all the things that had happened to her and Dipper since they split up yesterday. Stan was half paying attention until he heard,

“And it turns out that Leeli’s a Song Maiden and also a princess and-”  
“Whoa, whoa, wait, like a real princess?” asked Stan, frowning.  
“Yep! And Janner’s a Throne Warden-”  
“A _what_?”  
“I protect the king,” said Janner.  
Stan raised an eyebrow. “They got a kid to protect the king? Jeeze, great security here.”  
“I’m _thirteen_ and, for your information, it’s not that odd for a thirteen-year-old to be protecting the King when the king’s only twelve,” said Janner, a little hotly.

Stan’s head came up. “Wait, what?”  
“What, did you think Kal was older than me?” smirked Janner.  
Stan gaped at him. “Wait, you mean that kid,” he pointed to Kalmar, who was trying to balance a screwdriver on his nose for Leeli. “Is the king?!”  
“Yep,” said Janner, lifting his head.  
“Well that’s a liability! Why didn’t you kids tell me you were friends with a king? I’d have never have let you come out here! These people could sue me!” Stan said, outraged.  
“Aw, don’t worry, grunkle Stan, I’m sure nothing will happen while we’re out here,” grinned Mabel.

At that moment, the sea around the boat began to roil, and then, without warning something massive shot out of the water in front of them and towered over the boat.

Stan sighed. “Welp, here comes a lawsuit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, whatever could be in the water??? :)
> 
> By the way, if you're wondering why Nia hasn't shown up to yell at her kids yet, she went into their rooms last night, but found them all asleep in Janner's room, curled up in blankets and pillows on the floor with Dipper and Mabel. It was too cute of a scene to disturb, and they were safe, so she left well enough alone. But never fret, we will get angry mama Nia later. xD


	10. In which the Wingfeathers learn the importance of Glitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my second-favorite chapter to write so far. I love it when characters get carried away with random silly things....

The spray cleared, and the shape clarified into that of a massive, scaled head, shining red in the sunlight and seawater.

“It’s a sea monster!” shouted Stan. “Kids, get the harpoons!”  
He was already starting to rush forward at the creature (to do what the children didn’t know) when suddenly Leeli barred his path.  
“No, wait!” she said, holding her hands out. “She won’t hurt you! It’s Hulwen!”  
“It’s a what?” asked Stan, frowning.  
“Hulwen! She’s a dragon,” Leeli smiled. “She’s our friend.”

“A dragon?!” shrieked Mabel.  
“You’re friends with a dragon?!” Dipper turned to Janner, his mouth open in shock.  
Janner grinned. “Yep. We have an alliance with them.”  
“Whaaaat? How did you make an alliance with a dragon?!” demanded Dipper.

At that moment though, the air thrummed, and Hulwen spoke, though Janner was the only one who could understand her.

_‘Greetings little Wingfeathers. What brings you to the Sea in such a strange vessel?’_

“What- what’s happening?” asked Dipper.  
“She’s asking what we’re doing out here in this boat,” said Janner.  
“We’re looking for our uncle Artham, the one with wings, remember?” Kal called up to the dragon. “Our friends let us borrow their boat to look for him.”

Hulwen’s gaze roamed the deck, taking in the strange ship and the Pines. _‘We heard this boat yesterday, but today we heard your voices upon it. I wished to make sure you were safe.’_

“She says she heard the boat yesterday and wanted to make sure we were safe,” said Janner.  
Stan had recovered a bit and shook his head. “Look, not even I’m stupid enough to kidnap royalty.”

Hulwen snorted and shook her head, showering them with water droplets. _‘A wise choice, old man.’_  
“She says that’s wise of you,” said Janner.  
“Heh, a dragon called me wise, now there’s something to tell Ford,” Stan grinned.

Mabel had been slowly edging closer to Hulwen, her eyes wide. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispered. “Your scales are all sparkly, like you’re covered in glitter.”  
Hulwen made a noise that Janner assumed was a laugh and said. _‘Thank you little one.’_  
“She said thank you, Mabel,” Janner called.  
“Eeeee!” Mabel beamed. “Forget unicorns, dragons are my favorite animals now!”  
“What about dogs?” asked Leeli.  
Mabel considered this. “Dragons and dogs,” she nodded firmly. “They’re both my favorites. And kittens. And maybe also butterflies-”  
“Mabel, those are insects.”  
“That doesn’t matter, Dipper!”

“Hulwen,” said Kal. “If it wouldn’t trouble you, do you think you could go see if you could spot uncle Artham anywhere? He’s been gone a whole day and we’re worried about him.”  
_‘It is no trouble, Kalmar. I will see what can be found.’_  
“She said she’ll look,” said Janner.  
Kal grinned. “Thank you, Hulwen!”

The dragon’s head sank below the water and all was still for a moment. Then, suddenly, Hulwen burst out of the sea entirely, showering them with water. When they could see again they watched as she beat mighty wings that bore her high into the sky, until she looked like nothing more than a ruby gemstone amongst the clouds.

“I can’t believe you guys are friends with a dragon!” said Dipper as soon as Hulwen had flown away.  
Janner grinned. “More than one dragon, actually. They helped us out a lot in the war with the Fangs and Gnag.”  
“We helped them too,” said Leeli, still staring up at the sky. “We gave them the Water from the First Well, and that gave them wings again.”  
“Wait, they didn’t used to have wings?” Dipper frowned.  
“They had wings before their leader took them into the sea for hundreds of years,” explained Janner. “Since they stopped using the wings they sort of shrunk down until they couldn’t be used anymore. Same with their legs.”  
“Their leader… Hulwen?”  
“No,” Janner’s gaze darkened. “Her father.”  
“Yurgen,” whispered Leeli with a shudder.

There was a long pause.

“Well, I don’t know what you kids are talkin’ about, but we’d better get back to gettin’ this boat moving again,” said Stan.  
“She was so gorgeous,” Mabel said, spinning in a circle as she walked around the deck. “She was the prettiest dragon I’ve ever seen.”  
“She’s the _only_ dragon you’ve ever seen, Mabel.”  
“It’s like she was _glowing_. Covered in radiant sparkles.”  
“Hulwen’s always been beautiful,” agreed Leeli. She peered over the top deck and seemed to be trying to gauge whether she could jump down or not. Stan saw her and sighed, then picked her up and set her down.  
“Thanks for not letting me attack the dragon earlier, squirt,” he said.  
Leeli grinned at him, then limped over to Mabel.

  
“I’m gonna have to draw a picture of her,” said Mabel. “With lots of glitter.”  
“What’s glitter?” asked Leeli.  
“What- _you don’t know what glitter is_?!” gasped Mabel. She paled and her eyes grew wide as dinner plates. “I’ll be right back!”  
She darted down the hatch into the ship’s cabin. Leeli giggled and Kal shook his head.

A few moments later she re-emerged carrying a piece of bright pink paper and several sparkling containers.  
“This is glitter!” she announced, uncapping one of the containers. Leeli and Kal peered inside and their eyes widened.  
“Wow,” said Leeli. “That does look like dragon scales!”  
“Yes! And you put it on _everything_!” said Mabel eagerly. She shook the jar so that some of the glitter flew up into their faces. Leeli blinked. Kal sneezed.  
“Can I try it?” asked Leeli, a grin creeping onto her face.  
“Sure! Knock yourself out!” said Mabel, handing her the container.  
“Not literally!” yelled Stan.

Leeli pulled out a handful of glitter and considered it for a moment.  
Then, she threw it at Kalmar, covering him with it.

“Wha- pfft, Leeli!” he sputtered, staring down at himself.  
Leeli and Mabel burst out laughing. Kal glared at them for a few moments, but he couldn’t hide his grin. Pretty soon he was laughing along with them.

“You’re so pretty!” giggled Leeli.  
“Yeah, look at you you sparkly, shiny man!” laughed Mabel.  
Kal lifted his head and struck a pose with his hands on his hips. “I’m the glitteriest man alive!”

Leeli doubled over laughing. Mabel collapsed into a giggling heap on the deck.

Kal picked up the container of glitter. “With this substance we will truly become the Shining Isle of Anniera! Castle Rysen will sparkle in the sunlight! The Hollowsfolk will envy our shiny-ness! No evil thing will be able to quench our light so long as we have the power of GLITTER!”

The girls wheezed. Kal beamed at them. From behind the ship’s wheel, Janner grinned and turned to Dipper.  
“Behold, the High King of the Glittering Isle of Anniera.”  
“All enemies cower before his glittering power!” laughed Dipper.  
“He is like a beacon of light to his friends!”  
“A true sparkle to light the fires of justice.”

Stan stood up from the motor and marched down the deck to Kal and the girls.  
“Hey! No throwing glitter around on the ship!” he yelled.  
All five children froze.  
Stan walked up and grabbed the container of glitter from Kal.  
“Unless I get to help with it! C’mon, kids, who wants to help me cover all Ford’s material possessions with glitter?!”

The children paused, looked at each other.

Then cheered uproariously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... also dragons. xD


	11. In which Artham takes a Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand here's another chapter I really enjoyed writing.

Artham sat on the ground outside Fiddleford’s house, staring up at the cloudy sky and trying to figure out how he’d come to be in this strange town. And, more importantly, how he could get back home. There must be some reason he was here, but he couldn’t fathom what it was. And while he was rather enjoying the novelties of the town he knew he couldn’t stay forever.

After a little while, Fiddleford came out and sat down next to him.

They stayed that way in companionable silence for a while, then Fiddleford spoke. “What’cha thinkin’ about?”  
Artham shrugged. “I’m just not sure how I got here.”  
“Well, we walked outta the grocery store and came around the corner-”  
“No, I mean, how I got to this town in general,” said Artham, smiling in spite of himself.  
“Oh. Well what’s the last thing you remember before being here?”  
“I was flying above Anniera, then there was a very bright flash of light and I was above the town here,” said Artham. “And I can find no connection between this place and Anniera, or anywhere else I’ve been in Aerwiar.”  
“Hmm,” Fiddleford scratched his head. “Well, I don’t know for certain, but it could be you came through a portal. We seem to have a lot of those around here.”  
“A portal?” Artham frowned.  
“Yeah, it’s like a gateway from one place to another. You open the door, step through and find yourself in somewhere completely different from where you just were,” explained Fiddleford. He looked down. “I went through one by accident a long time ago. Wasn’t a pleasant experience,” then his head jerked up and there was an eager expression on his face. “But since the last time a portal opened it almost ended the world I made a device to detect them!”  
Artham sat up a little straighter. “Do you think it could help me get home?”  
“Well, it could tell us the next time a portal opened,” said Fiddleford. “I might be able to rig it up so it gives us some idea of where it’d be openin’ to. Then all you’d have to do is walk through it and you’d be home,” he grinned.  
Artham felt his heart lift. “That would be fantastic.”  
Fiddleford nodded. “Only problem is I left my portal detector back in my other house. It’s a bit of a trek to get to it, but if we leave now we can make it before supper!”

Artham looked up at the sky again and shuffled his wings. “If- if you wanted I could just fly us there. Then it wouldn’t take long at all.”  
Fiddleford stared at him for a minute, then suddenly grinned. “Well hot dog! That’s a great idea!” he paused. “You’d be alright carryin’ me and a few things?”  
Artham nodded. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”   
Fiddleford sprang to his feet. “Alright then! I’ll get my banjo!” then he darted inside the house.

Artham chuckled and shook his head fondly. His new friend certainly couldn’t be faulted for his enthusiasm.

****

One thing was for certain. Fiddleford was having the time of his life.

Artham tried not to laugh as his friend whooped and cheered into the sky for the fourth or fifth time since they’d taken off. He was clinging to Artham’s back, which made it a bit harder for him to flap his wings, but Fiddleford was having such a grand time that Artham didn’t have the heart to ask him to move. At any rate it wasn’t a great inconvenience.

When they had first taken off, Fiddleford had clung to him for dear life, but as they steadied out just below the clouds he had calmed down and started pointing things out below and around them (farmhouses, clouds, a flock of birds). It really wasn’t much different from taking Leeli or Kalmar up to fly around, Artham thought (especially since Fiddleford couldn’t have weighed any more than Kal did, and he wasn’t any great burden even with his backpack of knickknacks and his banjo).

Artham had no idea where they were going, but he loved flying, and soaring around with an enthusiastic passenger on a clear, windy day was really all he could ask for out of life anyway.

Artham suddenly swooped down towards the ground and Fiddleford gave a shout of excitement. He came up out of the dive and soared up, spinning once so that the clouds twisted about them, then flew down again.

Fiddleford cackled. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years!”

Artham beamed, and silently decided he could wait a bit longer before getting home.

****

It was quite some time before Artham finally swooped down and landed in the courtyard of a mansion that sported a wall around it like a castle. He was tired, and would probably be sore the next day, but his spirits were high, and when Fiddleford clambered off his back and beamed up at him Artham knew he’d done the right thing.

He turned his attention to the sight before them. “You live here?” he asked, for the second time in as many days.  
“Yep! It was the only house for sale,” said Fiddleford cheerfully. He trotted up to the house and Artham followed, marveling at the difference between the mansion and the little shack in the junkyard.

_‘Though I suppose if the Glipfolk could see me Castle Rysen they would be confused as well.’_

It was fairly obvious that Fiddleford didn’t use most of the house. He led Artham into a sitting room piled high with metal and wood and strange half-finished creations that Artham couldn’t really identify.

“Hmm, lemme see, where’d I put that doohickey,” muttered Fiddleford, rooting through the piles and checking under chairs.

“Aha!” he sprang up, holding a metal box about the size of a notebook. “Here it is!”   
Artham peered over his shoulder as Fiddleford adjusted two knobs on the box. There was a tiny pane of glass, like a miniature window, fitted into it. As Artham watched he saw lines and letters and numbers begin to skitter across it.

Fiddleford banged the box against the table and Artham jumped. Fiddleford seemed pleased with the result though, and nodded at the strange lines and numbers.  
“Guess there’s been quite a lot of portals openin’ around here the past few days,” he said. “And they do seem to be goin’ back and forth between here and the same place. From what I gather it’s some kinda island.”  
Artham nodded eagerly. “Anniera.”  
“It looks like-” Fiddleford frowned. “Oh. Looks like the next portal’s supposed to open tomorrow mornin’, round 8 o’clock.”

Artham felt relief wash through him. Tomorrow, he could be home by tomorrow morning. He almost laughed, but then…

Then he noticed Fiddleford’s absolutely crestfallen expression and his excitement faded.

Fiddleford sat down on the floor and set the box on the table, staring at nothing in particular. Slowly, Artham sat down beside him.

“Do you got any family waitin’ for you?” Fiddleford asked quietly.  
Artham nodded. “I have a wife and a sister-in-law and…” he smiled just a little. “A few nieces and nephews.”  
Fiddleford nodded. “Reckon you better be gettin’ back to them then.”  
Artham hesitated, then took a deep breath and plowed forward. “Do you have any family?”  
Fiddleford shrugged. “None what cares about me. When I lost my mind they- well, I guess they decided they couldn’t handle it.”

Memories slipped into his mind before Artham could stop them, all the times he had watched the Igiby children in Glipwood while being forbidden to so much as talk to them. His heart twisted.

“Why don’t you come visit Anniera with me when I go tomorrow?” asked Artham, the words spilling out of him before he had fully considered them.  
Fiddleford looked up. “What?”  
“You wouldn’t have to stay long, but you could see where I live then,” said Artham. “And meet my family.”  
“Are- are you sure you want them to meet me?” asked Fiddleford in a very small voice. “I ain’t exactly the kinda person most folks want to meet.”

Artham lifted his head and looked into his friend’s sad eyes. “They would love to meet you,” he said, confidently. “And I would love for them to meet you.”  
“Well,” Fiddleford pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Iffin’ that’s the case, then I-I’d like very much to come with you tomorrow.”  
Artham smiled at him. “I’m very glad to hear it.”  
Hesitantly, Fiddleford gave him a little smile back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the feels. :)))
> 
> Like I said, at some point we might get everyone in this fic at the same place at the same time.


	12. In which everyone is Grounded

“I can’t believe we spent the whole day at sea and didn’t find any sign of uncle Artham,” said Janner, slumped over the rail of the boat.  
“At least the ship’s all glittery now, he’ll be able to spot it when he comes back,” said Leeli.

The ship was indeed covered in glitter. Things had gotten slightly out of hand after Mabel gave Kalmar some of her “Mabel Juice” and the two of them had run around even more hyperactively than normal for several hours. Currently, both of them were curled up on the deck asleep.

“Sorry we couldn’t find him, man,” said Dipper beside him.  
Janner sighed. “I just hope he’s okay. Whenever he runs off like this it’s usually not good, but he _always_ comes back. Usually by the end of the day too, so this is very strange.”

Before Dipper could reply, Stan called down to them from where he was steering the boat.  
“Hey kids! Your dragon friend’s coming back!”

The boys and Leeli looked up and saw Hulwen winging her way back to them. She landed gracefully in the water beside the ship, not even rocking it enough to wake Kal and Mabel.

“Hulwen,” said Janner. “Did you find any sign of our uncle?”  
_‘No, young Throne Warden, I found no trace of him.’_

Janner’s shoulder’s slumped. “She didn’t find uncle Artham.”  
_‘But I did find something.’_  
Janner looked back up at her and she continued.  
_‘Above the Dark Sea, just beyond Anniera’s shores is a strange patch of sky. It vibrates and shimmers and thrums with an energy I’ve never felt before.’_  
Janner frowned. Leeli tugged his sleeve. “What else did she say?!”  
“She said that there’s a weird part of the sky above Anniera,” said Janner. “That it has a weird energy to it.”  
“Is it like the holore?” asked Leeli. “Or the Water from the First Well?”  
_‘No. It is_ different _, it is not like anything I have ever felt in this world before.’_  
“She said- she said it’s not like anything she’s felt in this world before,” said Janner, eyes widening. He turned to Dipper. “Yesterday you told me about portals, about how they’re doors to other places. Do you think that-”  
“Your uncle must have gone through one of them!” gasped Dipper. “And- and we must have come through the same one! That’s how we got here! I bet your uncle is in Gravity Falls!”  
“Now we just have to figure out how to get him back!” said Janner, eagerly. He turned back to the dragon. “Thank you Hulwen!”  
_‘You are welcome, little ones,’_ she said, and Janner could feel her fondness for them.

“Yes, thank you Hulwen,” said Leeli, walking forward and reaching out her arms towards the dragon. Hulwen obligingly pressed her nose into Leeli’s embrace.

Janner felt another burst of affection from the dragon, and then Hulwen slipped away under the sea once more.

“So all we have to do is figure out how to open a portal to Gravity Falls and we can get your uncle back and we can go home!” said Dipper excitedly.  
“Oh boy. Here we go again,” muttered Stan.

“Kal, Kal wake up!” Janner shook his brother.  
“Mmm? S’not time to wake up Janner,” mumbled Kal.  
“Kalmar we know where uncle Artham is!” Janner shouted.  
Kal jerked up. “I’m awake! I’m awake!” he looked around wildly. “Where’s uncle Artham?”  
“I said we know where he is, not that he’s here,” said Janner, rolling his eyes.

“Mabel! Mabel get up!” Dipper yelled at his sister. “Leeli just hugged a dragon!”  
Mabel sat bolt upright. “Whaaaaaat?” she looked wildly between her brother and Leeli. “And I _missed it_?!”  
“And we know where my uncle is now!” said Leeli, grinning. “He’s in your town!”  
“Your uncle is in Gravity Falls? Wow, he’ll fit right in,” grinned Mabel.  
“What does that mean?” asked Janner.  
“It means Gravity Falls is weird, kid!” said Stan. “Anyway, before we go building anymore portals I gotta get you kids back to that castle.”  
“Mama’s gonna be furious,” hissed Janner, covering his face with his hands.  
“Maybe we can hide from her again!” suggested Kal.  
“You _know_ that won’t work twice,” said Janner.  
“I mean, it’s not like any of us got hurt or anything, she, uh, she can’t be too mad, can she?” Dipper asked nervously.

Leeli shook her head and patted Dipper on the shoulder. “Yes she can.”

****

When they arrived back at Castle Rysen, there was a woman standing in the courtyard. She had long, black hair and wore a simple green dress with a gold sash. Her glare promised instant death to anyone who dared to meet it.

This was of course, Nia, the Wingfeather children’s mother.

The children climbed out of the wagon and stood in a submissive line before her, heads down. Stan slowly crept away from the scene and towards the safety of the open door behind Nia, but her gaze caught him and he froze like a statue. Nia then turned her deadly expression back to the children.

“What in the name of the Maker,” she said, far too calmly. “Did you think you were doing?”  
None of them dared answer.  
“You leave the castle without so much as a word to anyone, leaving me only a note to explain where you’d gone, and go out on your own sailing on a boat that does not belong to you, _unsupervised_ ,” she continued.   
“We did, um, sort of have their uncle with us,” said Kal, very quietly.  
“I have been informed that he is not a responsible adult,” said Nia.  
“Ford told you that, didn’t he, that little-” Stan stopped his potential tirade when confronted with Nia’s icy glare. “Er, I’ll just, ah, go tell him what I think of him myself if-”  
“I will have words with you, _Stanley Pines_ ,” said Nia, firmly. Stan gulped and stood still again.

“Now,” said Nia, returning to the children. “You have been completely irresponsible. You have acted impulsively, without considering how your actions may have put you in danger. What if Artham has been captured by pirates or rogue Fangs? You might have met the same fate! And then where would we be, without our King, Throne Warden and Son Maiden? I am incredibly disappointed in you three and as such until you demonstrate that you are once again capable of acting responsibly you will all be confined to the castle and the grounds within the wall. You also have your T.H.A.G.S. to catch up on.”  
“We’re sorry, mama,” said Janner, quietly. “But we did find out what happened to uncle Artham.”  
Nia paused and considered this. “Well at least your reckless venture bore some fruit. Where is he?”  
“Um, it’s a little hard to explain,” said Janner. “But I don’t think he’s in danger…” he looked to Dipper for confirmation of this and his friend nodded.  
Nia took a deep breath. “Well alright, at least that’s one bit of good news. Now…” she abruptly grabbed all three of her children and pulled them into a hug. “ _Don’t ever do that again._ ”

“Yes mama,” they chorused.   
Nia turned to Dipper and Mabel. “I have already talked to your uncle and he has agreed that you should also be confined to the castle. He also seemed to agree that T.H.A.G.S. were a fitting punishment because they’re “schoolwork” and you two are on something called, “summer vacation”.”  
Dipper and Mabel groaned.

“Alright, you’re all free to go, but I _will_ be checking in on you tonight,” warned Nia.  
The children shot off like arrows from a bow, eager to be away from Nia’s wrath.

“As for you,” Nia turned to Stan.  
“Okay, okay, look, lady, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize your kids were royalty and all that. Please don’t sue me,” said Stan, holding up his hands in surrender.  
Nia raised an eyebrow. “It was very irresponsible of you, _Stanley_ , to let them do this,” she said.  
“Could you please just call me Stan? I feel like that would be less awkward-”  
“However,” Nia continued. “You did, at the very least, go with them and, I assume, kept them out of danger. So you are not entirely irresponsible,” she folded her arms and stepped closer to him. “However, take note that the only reason I am allowing you to walk away from this confrontation unscathed is because my father likes you.”  
Stan blinked. “Your fath- oh, Podo, yeah, that makes sense.”  
Nia sighed. “You are free to go, Stanley.”  
“Er, yeah, thank you, ma’am, I guess,” Stan started backing away slowly, as if afraid she’d change her mind. Then, abruptly, he darted through the door of the castle and dashed out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, Nia knows full well Ford is also not a responsible adult, but he was the only guardian of Dipper and Mabel that she could find, so. xD (she's also a fair woman, so as long as she calls Stan "Stanley" she'll be calling Ford "Stanford")


	13. In which Ford learns that Kalmar can draw

Mabel and Dipper discovered that T.H.A.G.S. weren’t really so bad, since they involved drawing and reading. Janner loaned Dipper one of his books and gave him a notebook, and Kal gave Mabel a sketchbook. Meanwhile, Leeli hummed and quietly strummed an instrument she told them was called a whistleharp. They worked that way for some time, quiet except for the scratching of pencils and Leeli’s singing.

Then, without warning, the door burst open and Ford tumbled in.

“ _You saw dragons?!_ ”

The children stared at him, wide eyed before Mabel sprang up and waved at him. “Hi great uncle Ford!”  
Ford paused. “Hello Mabel,” he said, before turning back to the group at large.  
“Er, yes?” said Dipper, finally.  
“I cannot believe this,” said Ford, starting to pace. “You have an encounter with real dragons and I’m not even there to document it. Did any of you get pictures?!”  
“Um, no,” said Dipper. “Sorry, grunkle Ford.”

Ford looked like he was either going to start screaming or crying, possibly both, when Kal spoke up.  
“I have pictures of the dragons,” he said.  
Ford blinked. “You, you do?”  
“Yeah!” Kal stood and picked up his sketchbook. “I draw them all the time.”  
Ford drooped a little. “Oh, you mean drawings, not actual photographs.”  
Undeterred, Kal walked up to him and opened his sketchbook. “There’s Hulwen, I’ve got a lot of pictures of her, and here are some of the others…”  
Ford’s interest began to return as Kal flipped through the pages. “These are remarkable! I’ve never seen such detailed sketches in all my life! How close did you get to be able to make these?”  
“I mean, I’ve ridden a dragon before,” said Kal, grinning. “So I’ve been pretty close to them.”

Ford gaped at him. “You- you’ve _ridden_ a dragon?!”  
“Yep,” said Kal, proudly.  
“I did it first,” said Leeli.  
“We’ve all done it,” said Janner.  
“Wait, you’ve actually ridden the dragons?!” squeaked Dipper. “You didn’t tell us that!”  
“What was it like?!” Mabel joined in. “Was it magical?”  
“Yes,” said Leeli.  
“You must tell us everything,” insisted Ford, sitting down on the floor and pulling out his most recent Journal.

The Wingfeather children grinned at each other and sat down with their eager listeners.

“Well you should know that they can talk,” said Janner. “And understand humans, but only a Throne Warden can hear what they’re saying.”  
“A Throne Warden?” asked Ford.  
“The oldest royal sibling,” said Janner. “We protect the king or queen of Anneria.”  
“That’s me,” said Kal, grinning.  
“And I’m a Song Maiden,” said Leeli. “Which means I can call the dragons. Most of the time, anyway.”  
“She can also calm them down so they don’t eat you,” said Janner.  
“That was scary,” said Leeli.  
“What happened?” asked Dipper.  
“Well, grandpa had made enemies with the dragons when he was a pirate,” said Kal. “So they swore to kill him if he ever went onto the Dark Sea of Darkness again.”  
“So when we went to sail from Skree to the Hollows, the dragons came and attacked us,” said Janner. “But Leeli sang an ancient song to their leader-”  
“Yurgen,” whispered Leeli.  
“-And he stopped and reconsidered,” continued Janner. “And then Hulwen told him to let us go, but he still wanted vengeance. So he said that he’d give grandpa this last voyage, and then next time he stepped foot in the water-”  
“Yurgen would kill him,” said Leeli, quietly. “And he would have, if he hadn’t died in the last battle at the Hollows.”  
“Fascinating,” said Ford. “So the dragons are intelligent and even capable of holding grudges.”  
Kal flipped to a page in his sketchbook. “That’s Yurgen,” he said, pointing to a picture of a massive gray dragon with yellow eyes beside a tiny boat.  
“Hulwen’s much nicer,” said Leeli.  
“And she’s beautiful,” said Mabel. “Grunkle Ford she’s the prettiest dragon you’ll ever see! She’s bright red and she _sparkles_!”  
“Here’s a colored picture of her,” said Kal, holding up another drawing. He turned to Mabel and grinned. “You’ll have to give me some of your glitter so I can add it to my pictures.”  
“Yessss!” Mabel cheered.

“What else can you tell us about the dragons?” asked Ford. “Do they live on land, or in the sea? Can they fly?”  
“They used to live in the sea,” said Janner.  
“But now they have wings!” said Kal.  
“And they live wherever they want,” said Leeli.  
“We could probably just introduce you to them sometime,” suggested Kal.  
Ford stared at him with wide eyes. “That would be marvelous.”

The children laughed, and the Wingfeathers spent the rest of the evening explaining everything they knew about the dragons, until Nia inevitably came in and told them to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just thought Ford would be utterly outraged to learn that all the kids and his brother got to meet a dragon and he missed it. And then that he'd be amazed at how good at drawing Kalmar is. Like, "Oh jeeze, these are probably some little kid doodles or- WHOA WHOLY CRAP THEY'RE REALLY GOOD?!?"


	14. In which there is a happy Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter is filled with wholesome relationships and interactions of all kinds.

Artham and Fiddleford stood on the roof of the mansion at exactly 8am, waiting for the portal to open. Artham had abandoned the tarp and had his wings stretched out behind him. They were far enough away from the town that there wasn’t anyone to see him anyway. He wore his sword and rubbed his fingers idly over the hilt. Fiddleford wore his normal outfit, but with the addition of a bright red knitted sweater under his overalls. He also had his patched backpack (still filled with odds and ends) with his banjo strapped to it.

Artham shuffled his wings and considered the sky in front of him. “Will we be able to see it when it opens?”  
“Eh, probably. Should be able to feel it at least,” said Fiddleford. He tightened his grip on his backpack strap. “You sure about bringin’ me along?”  
“Yes,” said Artham, without hesitation. He looked down. “Anniera is made up of people who were once as strange as you or me, and it is only by the will of the Maker and the sacrifice of one very brave boy that they are no longer that way.”  
“Well I hope you’re right. Be nice to seem like less of a…” he shrugged. “Outcast? Nuisance? Oh, I don’t know.”

Artham opened his mouth to say something when he suddenly felt a ripple through the air, like wind except that it went _through_ him. When he turned to look he saw a shimmering patch of sky in front of them, with a distinctly bluish tinge.

“Oh,” Artham blinked. “How did I miss that before?”  
“It probably won’t stay open very long,” said Fiddleford. “We’d better get moving.”  
Artham nodded and reached down and took his friend’s hand. Fiddleford jumped a bit, but held on after a moment. Then they stepped forward into the strange shimmering sky.

On the other side, Artham found himself falling, once again.

He heard Fiddleford shriek and he spread his wings, flapping madly to level them out. He wasn’t quite sure how, but Fiddleford scrambled up his arm and ended up clinging to him.  
Artham chuckled a little and wrapped an arm around him. “I suppose I should have expected that.”  
“Sure is a good thing you have wings,” said Fiddleford, staring at the ground far below them.

Artham looked as well and felt a burst of happiness in his heart. Beneath them were the hills and mountains of Anniera, green and shining in the sunlight.  
“It worked!” he laughed, just barely resisting the urge to dive straight at Castle Rysen.  
“This is where you live?” Fiddleford squinted at the island below them.  
“Indeed! Behold the Shining Isle of Anniera!” said Artham, proudly.   
“Its kind hard to see, unless,” Fiddleford tapped his glasses. “Nope, still got ‘em!”  
“We’re rather high above it,” admitted Artham. “Are you alright if I fly us down?”  
“Oh, sure,” Fiddleford nodded. “I just didn’t expect there to be nothin’ but air beneath me when I stepped through that portal!”

Artham grinned, and Fiddleford scrambled onto his back again. Then, he took a deep breath and dove towards his home.

****

Artham landed on one of the completed towers of Castle Rysen and he and Fiddleford climbed into it through an open window.

“This is Castle Rysen,” said Artham. “Technically, the second Castle Rysen. The first burned up. This one is still being built.”  
Fiddleford nodded and tapped on one of the walls. “Mighty fine construction you got here.”  
Artham smiled. “Come on, I’ll tell you more of it as we go.”

They walked through the castle, Artham talking as they went and Fiddleford occasionally making comments. Artham steered them in the direction of the living quarters, hoping to run in to a member of his family.

And, of course, he did.

“Artham!”

The shout startled them both, and the two men turned to see a young girl running at them.  
“Sara!” said Artham, grinning. “It’s good to-”  
Sara careened into him and hugged him tightly. “You’re alright! We’ve been so worried about you!” she suddenly pulled back. “I have to take you to Aurendelle!”  
Before Artham could say a word she had grabbed one of his hands and one of Fiddleford’s and started practically running along the corridor. They had no choice but to keep pace with her.

Finally, they came to the door of a room Artham knew very well. Sara let go of their hands and shoved it open.  
“Aurendelle!” she called. “I found Artham!”

“What?!” a woman dashed to the door. She took one look at Artham and threw her arms around him.  
“Artham! Where have you _been_?!”  
Artham hugged her back tightly. “It’s rather hard to explain. Apparently I accidentally flew through a portal to another world.”  
“Another _what_?!” Aurendelle pulled back enough to see his face.  
“Another world. It was like ours, but with indoor markets and doors that look like windows and metal baskets on wheels that are good for skating around on,” said Artham.  
Aurendelle frowned. “That sounds very strange.”  
Artham nodded. “It was. But I did make a friend,” he stepped back and found that Fiddleford had slipped into the shadow cast by the door and was watching them nervously. Very gently, Artham steered him back into the light.

“Aurendelle, Sara, this is Fiddleford McGucket. I would have been completely lost in the other world if not for him and also still trapped there,” he smiled. “He has proven himself to be a very good friend. Fiddleford, this is my wife, Aurendelle, and Sara Cobbler.”  
Fiddleford reached up and took off his hat and clutched it to his chest like a shield. “H-Howdy there, ma’am, little miss.”  
“Hello,” said Sara, smiling at him.  
“It’s very nice to meet you, Fiddleford,” said Aurendelle. “And thank you for helping Artham. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him again.”  
Fiddleford nodded, and very slowly put his hat back on his head.

Aurendelle took a breath. “Well, we should probably tell the others you’re back,” she said, looking up at Artham.  
“I’ll tell them if you two want to talk,” said Sara. She turned and looked at Fiddleford. “Want to come with me?”  
“Well, I,” Fiddleford wrung his hands together and looked nervously up at Artham.  
Artham put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. “I won’t be very long. Go with Sara,” he looked at the girl and smiled a little sadly. “She’ll make sure you don’t get lost. She’s very good at that.”

Sara met Artham’s gaze and gave him a nod, then she held out a hand to Fiddleford. After a long moment, he reached out and took it. She smiled, and gently tugged him down the corridor, waving over her shoulder.  
“See you in a bit, Artham!” she called.

Artham watched them go, then turned back to Aurendelle. She raised an eyebrow and tugged him into their room, pulling the door shut behind them.

“You went into another _world_?” she asked.  
He nodded. “I don’t really know how. Apparently some sort of doorway opened between the two worlds called a _portal_ and I accidentally flew through it.”  
“Hmm,” she took his hand and pulled him over to sit on their bed. “How did you get back?”  
“Through another portal,” he said. “Fiddleford has a way to detect them.”

They were quiet for a few moments, then Aurendelle spoke again.

“He’s like you,” she said, softly. “Like one of the cloven, but human.”  
Artham nodded.  
“And that was why you brought him along?” she asked.  
Artham shrugged. “He was lonely.”  
Aurendelle chuckled and leaned against him. He carefully wrapped his wings around them, even as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.  
“I’m glad to be back,” he said quietly.  
“I’m glad you’re back too,” she agreed, taking his hand and entwining their fingers.

And there they stayed for a while, just resting in each other’s presence, happy to be together once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Fiddleford has a sweater because Mabel made them for everyone during Weirdmageddon and he definitely still has it (and it is probably the nicest piece of clothing he owns).


	15. In which Sara is perceptive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter. I'm going on a retreat this weekend so I might not end up getting a chapter written tomorrow- we'll see how things go. I hope you enjoy this one though!

Sara Cobbler had never thought she would meet another person even remotely like Artham Wingfeather, so it was very fitting that it be Artham who proved her wrong about that.

Of course the man walking beside her, at first glance, bore absolutely no resemblance to Artham, she knew. But the nervousness, stuttering, and general anxiety reminded her very, very strongly of Artham, especially right after she had met him.

“Thanks for helping Artham,” she said after a few moments. “I worry about him when he’s by himself.”  
“I didn’t do very much, really,” said Fiddleford quietly.  
“You brought him back home,” she said. “That’s pretty important.”

They were quiet for a few minutes again. Sara tried to figure out something else to talk about.  
“Have you ever been in a castle before?” she finally asked.  
“Not that I recall,” said Fiddleford.  
“This is the only castle I’ve ever been in too,” said Sara. “I think there’s only one in Skree, but I was never important enough to visit it, and anyway, for most of my life the Fangs controlled it.”  
“Fangs?”  
“Lizard people,” said Sara. “Later there were also wolf people.”  
“Oh. We got creatures like that in Gravity Falls. They ain’t the kind of people you’d want to meet in a dark alley.”  
Sara shivered. “No, they’re not,” she decided it might be wise to change the subject. “What kind of instrument is that?”  
Fiddleford stopped. “You people have really never seen a banjo have you?” he asked, incredulously.  
Sara grinned a little. “Nope.”

Then a thought came to her. “I bet I know someone who’d really like to know how it works though. C’mon!”

They trotted along down the corridor until Sara drew them to a stop in front of a seemingly ordinary door. In fact, the only thing different about this door from the dozen others they’d passed was that there was the sound of music coming from the other side of it.

Sara knocked on the door. There was a pause, and then a voice called, “Come in.”

She pushed the door open to reveal none other than Leeli Wingfeather, sitting on a chest in front of her bed, her whistleharp still in her hands.

“Hi, Leeli,” said Sara. “Haven’t seen you very much the past few days.”  
“Sorry, Sara,” the little girl ducked her head. “We kind of got distracted, and then with uncle Artham missing…”  
“Well he’s not missing anymore,” said Sara.  
Leeli’s face lit up. “He’s not?!”  
Sara grinned. “Nope. And it’s thanks to this man,” she gave a little tug on Fiddleford’s hand and out of the corner of her eye she saw him hesitantly step forward.  
Leeli beamed. She hopped down from the chest and limped over. “Thank you!” she said.

And then, without hesitation, she threw her arms around Fiddleford and hugged him.

He froze. Sara saw a brief flash of panic in his eyes, and then…

His hand slipped out of hers and he slowly brought his arms up and hugged Leeli back.

They stayed that way for a moment, then Leeli hopped back, resting her hands on his shoulders. “My name’s Leeli, by the way,” she said, cheerfully. “What’s yours?”  
He blinked. “F-F-Fiddleford McGucket, at your service, little miss.”  
Leeli grinned and reached down to pick up her crutch. “You should probably find my brothers and tell them uncle Artham’s back, they’ll be very excited.”  
“I’ll tell them,” said Sara. “But I thought you might like to see his instrument first.”  
“Instrument?” Leeli looked back and forth between them.  
“It’s my banjo,” said Fiddleford, carefully pulling it off his backpack. “How none of y’all have ever heard of a banjo I don’t rightly know.”  
Leeli leaned forward to look at the instrument. “Can I hold it?”  
“Sure!” Fiddleford sat down and Leeli followed suit. He handed her the banjo and picked up her hands and placed them on the strings. “See you hold it like this and-”  
Leeli ran her hand over the strings and smiled at the noise. “Hmm, it’s a little different from a whistleharp.”  
“A what?” Fiddleford blinked.  
“A whistleharp!” Leeli grinned. “You’ve never heard of a whistleharp?”  
Fiddleford scratched his head. “Don’t reckon I have.”

Leeli carefully set the banjo on the floor and hopped over to her chest, grabbing the whistleharp and carrying it back. She sat back down and held it up. “See? It’s a harp with a whistle,” she grinned and handed it to him.  
“Huh,” he ran his hands over it carefully. “Funny little instrument.”  
Leeli giggled. “How about you teach me how to play your banjo and I’ll teach you how to play my whistleharp.”  
Fiddleford looked up at her and a grin slowly spread over his face. “You got yourself a deal, little missy.”

Sara smiled as she backed out of the room, leaving the door open behind her. As she hurried down the corridor towards Janner and Kal’s rooms she could hear notes of music escaping the room.

****

Janner and Kal were back in Janner’s room, working on their T.H.A.G.S. along with Dipper and Mabel, when there was a knock on the door and Sara Cobbler burst inside.

“Sara!” said Janner, surprised and immediately slightly guilty. With the appearance of the Pines family and the disappearance of uncle Artham he hadn’t seen Sara in almost two days.  
Sara raised an eyebrow at him. “Janner,” she said, before turning to the room at large. “I come with a message. Artham is back!” she grinned.

There was a pause, then Kal gave a whoop of excitement and threw his hands in the air- a gesture he had picked up from Mabel.  
“He’s back?!” said Janner. “How?! I thought, I was sure that…”  
“If he was in Gravity Falls, how’d he get back here?!” Dipper said, finishing the thought.

Sara remembered that name and spoke up. “He made a friend in Gravity Falls who helped him get back,” she said.  
“He made a friend?!” said Janner.  
“In Gravity Falls?!” added Dipper.  
“This is great! Everybody keep shouting! Woooooooo!” yelled Mabel enthusiastically.  
Kal grinned. “I’m with her. So where’s uncle Artham?!”  
“He’s with Aurendelle, but he said he’d come find us soon,” said Sara. “His friend’s with Leeli though.”

As if on cue, music wafted down the hallway to them.

“Why does that sound like a banjo?” asked Dipper, frowning.  
“Because it is,” said Sara, cheerfully.  
“Music! People coming home! You all know what this means, right?!” said Mabel, springing to her feet.  
“A feast!” said Kal, springing up with her.  
“A party!” cheered Mabel. “And, yes, a feast sounds good too. Come friends! We must celebrate!” she ran out of the room, cheering. Kal gave another whoop and followed her.

Dipper, Janner and Sara hurried after them. Janner hung back as Dipper ran to join his sister (or possibly hold her back, it was unclear) and walked next to Sara.

“Sorry for not bringing you along these last couple days,” he said sheepishly.  
Sara shrugged. “It’s okay, at least I didn’t get grounded,” she grinned a little.  
He chuckled and grinned back. “Yeah, I guess there’s that.”

Ahead of them, they heard a startled exclamation, and they looked at each other.

“Guess we’d better hurry,” said Janner.  
Sara nodded, and reached down and took his hand.  
Then they ran towards the sound of excited yelling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: Leeli, you can't hug a man you just met, you don't even know his NAME  
> Leeli: I'm gonna hug him. :)  
> me: Leeli-  
> Leeli: I'm gonna hug him. :)  
> me:.... You know what, okay, fine, WHY NOT?
> 
> Fun(?) fact: That's probably the first actual, proper hug Fiddleford's had in 30+ years. :)))


	16. In which the Power of Music draws people Together

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, four old men sat playing a card game.

“Stan, yer cheatin’ again,” rumbled Podo.  
“I am not!” Stan feigned outrage. “I can’t believe you keep accusing me like this, I thought we were friends! Why don’t you accuse Ford, he’s the one with extra fingers to slip cards up his sleeve.”  
“Stanley that was _one time_ and we were thirteen!”  
“Yeah but it proved you have it in you!”  
“If it’s any consolation,” said Podo. “I can tell ye that Oskar’s cheating too, though very badly at it.”  
Oskar pretended to look shocked. “Why Podo, I can’t believe you would say such a thing! I barely know how to play these games, let alone cheat at them.”  
“My 13-year-old niece cheats less obviously than you do, bookseller,” said Stan. “Now anyway, as I was saying-”  
“Stanley, hush,” said Ford, suddenly.  
“Now look, Ford, I know you don’t like me to call you out-”  
“No, not that, listen!”

The four of them sat in silence for a moment.  
“It’s music,” said Stan. “What’s your point, Pointdexter?”  
“But it’s the kind of music,” pressed Ford.  
“Aye,” chuckled Podo. “Sounds like Leeli’s found someone to play with her.”  
Ford sprang to his feet. “I’d know that sound anywhere- goodness knows I used to hear it enough- that’s Fiddleford’s banjo!”  
Stan sat up straighter. “Wait, you mean old man McGucket?”  
“He’s the same age as us, Stanley, but yes.”  
Podo raised an eyebrow. “A friend of yours?”  
Stan shrugged. “An old nerd buddy of Ford’s. Lost his mind and went crazy, but Ford tells me he’s gotten better.”  
“But how did he get here?!” said Ford, who was now pacing.

Podo stood. “Well, there’s only one way to find out. C’mon, I’ll show you up to Leeli’s room- that’s where the music’s comin’ from anyway.”

He stood and walked out the door, and- with no other reasonable course of action to take- the others followed him.

****

Dipper and Mabel stood in the doorway of Leeli’s room, staring at one of the stranger things they’d seen in their bizarre young lives.

Leeli was sitting on the floor, playing a banjo. Next to her, playing a whistleharp was none other than-

“McGucket?!” exclaimed the twins.  
He froze, then grinned and waved at them. “Well look at that, it’s the Pines kids!”  
Leeli looked back and forth between them. “You know each other?”  
“Yeah!” said Mabel. “We destroyed a secret society together, and then he built us a giant robot out of our house!”  
Kal, standing next to her, frowned. “What’s a robot?”  
“What’s going on?” asked Janner, coming up behind them with Sara.  
“Mabel and Dipper know uncle Artham’s friend!” said Leeli, cheerfully. “And I’m learning to play a banjo!”  
“And doin’ a fine job of it,” said Fiddleford.  
“Wait, but how did you get here?” asked Dipper, frowning.  
“Well, I used my portal detector to find a portal here and bring their uncle back,” he gestured at the Wingfeather children. “And then Sara there told me to wait here with this little lady.”  
“Wow,” Janner blinked. “I guess there are a lot of portals around Anniera.”  
“You have a portal detector?” said Dipper.  
“I still want to know what a robot is and how you use a house to make one,” said Kal, folding his arms.  
“And I still think we should have a party!” said Mabel. “This is great! Leeli, do you know any party songs?”  
Leeli grinned and nodded.  
“Then let’s partyyyyy! We can figure out all the details later,” Mabel waved a hand dismissively.   
Kal sighed. “Alright. But there’s got to be food.”

“Here,” said Leeli, handing the banjo back to Fiddleford. “Do you want to help?”  
“Sure!” Fiddleford grinned and traded the whistleharp for his banjo.  
“Alright,” said Leeli, thinking. “Do you think you could catch on if I start playing?”  
“Yep! Lead on, little missy.”

Leeli giggled, brought the whistleharp to her lips and started to play a bright, rollicking tune that Fiddleford picked up very quickly.

“Yeaaaah! That’s what I’m talking about!” Mabel started dancing.  
Kal laughed and joined her. Dipper sighed and threw his hands in the air.   
Janner patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll figure it all out somehow.”  
“Yeah, I know,” Dipper sighed, then shrugged. “Well, I guess we should dance.”  
“Yes,” said Sara, taking Janner’s hands. “We should.”

Soon, the children were laughing and dancing with each other and having such a grand time that they didn’t even realize who the noise of their party was attracting.

Artham and Aurendelle peered into the room. Artham pulled his head back, grinning.  
“Well, things seem to be going well,” he said.  
Aurendelle chuckled. “Indeed.”  
“Shall we join them?” asked Artham, offering her his hand.  
Aurendelle met his eyes and took his hand. “We shall.”

The pair stepped into the room and started dancing. It took a few moments, and a few whooshes of wind from Artham’s wings until the children noticed them and paused. Leeli stopped playing, her mouth open and forming a grin, and after a moment Fiddleford stopped as well.

Artham and Aurendelle paused when they realized the music had stopped. Before they could say anything though, three joyous voices rang through the air.

“UNCLE ARTHAM!”

Artham was knocked to the floor from the force of his niece and nephews tackling him. He laughed and hugged them back.

“Wow, they weren’t kidding about the wings,” said Dipper, eyes wide. Then, “Mabel! What are you doing?!”  
Mabel was edging over, reaching out a hand to run over Artham’s wings. She turned and glared at her brother. “What? Like you don’t want to touch them?”  
“It’s alright,” said Artham, noticing her. “I don’t mind.”  
Mabel stuck her tongue out at Dipper, then reverently reached out and stroked Artham’s feathers. “Your wings are so beautiful,” she said, voice hushed.  
Artham ducked his head. “Thank you. And I don’t believe I’ve met either of you…”  
“I’m Mabel,” she said, cheerfully. “And you’re Artham! We’ve heard all about you!” without hesitation, she joined the Wingfeather siblings in hugging him.  
Dipper shook his head and picked up a feather from the floor. “And I’m her twin brother, Dipper.”  
“They’re the kids what helped me get my memories back, Artham!” said Fiddleford.  
“Ohh,” Artham grinned and patted Mabel’s head. “Well it’s good to meet you.”

At that moment there was the sound of hurried footsteps, and Stan, Ford, Podo and Oskar appeared in the doorway. Arriving at a more leisurely pace behind them was Nia.

Nia started. “Artham?!” she said at the same time Ford shouted, “Fiddleford?!” in utter disbelief.  
“Hello, Nia,” said Artham, waving.  
“Stanford?” said Fiddleford. “What are you doin’ here?”  
“How does everyone know each other?!” Kal whispered to Janner, who shrugged.

Nia recovered faster than anyone. “I think we had best all go sort this out in the sitting room. Do you agree, Kalmar?”  
Kal jumped. “Er, yeah, sure! And we should have lunch!”

Everyone laughed.


	17. In which the children are Persuasive

“Alright, so let me get this straight,” said Stan. “The kid’s uncle flies through the same portal we fell through and ends up in Gravity Falls. He meets Ford’s crazy old nerd buddy who I guess now has a way to detect portals- probably smart honestly, considering how weird our town is- and then they use one of those portals to get back here. Meanwhile, we’re stuck in this world until we can find another one of those portals that will hopefully take us back to Gravity Falls- but that might also shoot us into the sun or something. Am I missing anything?”

“I think you’ve summed up it up nicely,” said Nia, drily. “And while we wouldn’t really mind letting you stay here I’m sure you want to get back to your home.”  
“I mean, we could stay for a little while, right?” said Dipper hopefully, looking at his grunkles.  
“I don’t see why not,” said Stan, shrugging.  
“Why we should not, Stanley, is because using these portals is dangerous!” said Ford. “We don’t even know how many of them lead back to Gravity Falls and how many lead to-” he paused and looked down. “Other things.”  
“Will it hurt Anniera or your town to travel back and forth?” asked Kal, looking surprisingly serious despite having jam on his face.  
“I don’t know,” said Ford, tightly. “The last time I opened a portal…”   
“Dipper said the world almost ended,” said Janner, quietly.  
Ford winced. “Yes.”  
“I don’t think the portals are gonna hurt anythin’,” said Fiddleford, suddenly. “Not accordin’ to my calculations,” he pulled the portal detecting device out of his pocket and set it on the table. “I made this to find portals and tell me how dangerous they’d be, an’ none of the ones so far have been anything worth worryin’ over.”  
“Alright, so if the world isn’t going to end then what will happen?” Podo asked. “Are we going to get more visitors like you lot?”  
Ford shrugged. “It’s possible. Though, if I return to Gravity Falls I may be able to stop the portals from opening, and then we wouldn’t have to worry about them causing any damage.”

The assembled children looked at each other, frowning. They were all thinking the same thing.

_‘If the portals close, we’ll never see each other again.’_

“Couldn’t you just leave a few portals open, grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked.  
“Not if I found what was causing them,” said Ford, misunderstanding her concern. “Then I would have the means to prevent any of them from ever opening again, which would likely be for the best. But of course first we have to get back and-”  
“Stanford,” said Nia, firmly, seeing the children’s crestfallen expressions. “Please be quiet.”  
Ford looked surprised, but shut up.

“What if we could just keep one portal open?” Dipper said quietly. “Between here and Gravity Falls?”  
“I would, um, I would have to look into it,” said Ford.

“If the portals aren’t causing any harm then why must you stop them?” asked Artham.  
“Because they don’t all lead to harmless worlds like this,” said Ford. “Some of them could set very dangerous creatures loose.”  
“But if Fiddleford’s invention can detect which portals those are,” said Artham. “Then why don’t you just use it to find those and stop them from opening?”  
Ford blinked. “Well… I suppose that’s true. But it’s still taking a lot of unnecessary risks…”  
“Aw, c’mon, Pointdexter,” said Stan. “I know for a fact you don’t actually want to cut off communication with a world that has friendly talking dragons.”  
“I’ll have to look into it,” said Ford, but it was obvious he was wavering.

Mabel and Leeli walked up to him, their arms wrapped around each other and their expressions pleading.  
“Pleeeeaaaaseee, grunkle Ford,” said Mabel.  
“We want to be able to see each other again,” said Leeli. “Please don’t make us be separated forever.”  
Mabel leaned closer. “I won’t even make any more food with glitter in it for like a week.”  
Leeli reached out and clutched Ford’s sweater. “You’re a very nice man. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to break our hearts.”

Ford tugged nervously at his collar. “I-I…”  
“Aw, c’mon, Ford, just tell ‘em yes, I’m gonna start crying,” said Stan.  
“Aye, don’t disappoint the wee things,” agreed Podo, dabbing his eyes.

Meanwhile, Janner, Dipper and Kal were watching their sisters’ display and shaking with barely contained laughter.

“Oh, oh alright! I won’t close all the portals!” said Ford, throwing his hands in the air.  
Mabel squealed. “Thank you, grunkle Ford!”   
She threw her arms around him, and Leeli followed suit. Ford sighed, but he smiled fondly and ruffled their hair.

“Well now that _that_ crisis is averted, how are we gonna get home?” asked Stan.  
“I’d expect the same way I did,” said Artham. “Find the next time a portal will open to Gravity Falls and then go through it.”  
“Alright,” said Ford, having extricated himself from Mabel and Leeli. “Fiddleford, when does the next portal open?”  
Fiddleford jumped a bit and looked up from where he was drawing something for Kal on a napkin. “Well, let’s see here,” he said, picking up his device. He twisted the knobs for a few moments, then banged it on the table. The others jumped.

Artham nodded sagely. “He does that.”

“Ah, there we go!” Fiddleford grinned at the device. “It says the next portal to Gravity Falls- I think that’s Gravity Falls- opens in…” he squinted and jiggled his glasses. “One week!”

“A week?!” said Ford, eyes widening.  
“Maker help me,” breathed Nia. Aurendelle patted her shoulder and hid a grin.  
Fiddleford shrugged. “That’s what it says.”

“Welp, guess that means we’ll have time to finish our card game,” said Stan, cheerfully.  
“And we can finish our party!” cheered Mabel. “GET THE INSTRUMENTS!”  
“And we can have snacks!” said Kal.  
“Didn’t you just eat?” asked Dipper, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yep!” Kal grinned.

And that is exactly what they all did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ford didn't stand a chance against the combined power of Mabel and Leeli. xD
> 
> Nia is asking the Maker for strength because she realized this means she has to put up with Stan and Ford for a full week. The others are fine, but those two... well, you know how they are. xD
> 
> Aaand Fiddleford was trying to draw a picture of a robot for Kal.


	18. In which Fiddleford makes a request

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been looking forward to writing this chapter! :D

It was two days later. Artham and Fiddleford sat on a hill outside castle Rysen overlooking the garden with the whole of Anniera spread out before them. Beyond the island’s green shores was the deep blue of the sea, sparkling in the sunlight.

“Sure is beautiful here,” said Fiddleford, quietly.  
“It is,” agreed Artham. “The most beautiful of all the lands of Aerwiar.”  
Fiddleford sighed. “Wish I could stay here.”

Artham froze, and his heart suddenly beat a little faster. He looked over and regarded his friend. “You could, you know.”  
Fiddleford shook his head. “Aw, no, I wouldn’t want to impose on you people. You’re all, all too good for me, I think. This place sure is. I’d never…” he looked down.   
Artham took a deep breath. “When Anniera fell and burned not all of the people who lived here were killed,” he said, well aware that if he started this story it may not end well. “In fact a great deal of them were captured. They were taken to the dungeons of Gnag the Nameless, the one who destroyed Anniera. There they were driven to despair and allowed themselves to be changed out of pain and desperation. But not all the transformations worked, and many were never finished. I told you a-a-about my claws,” he could feel Fiddleford watching him intently and forced himself to go on.   
“The people were like me, they-they lost themselves. Those who es-escaped fled into the Blackwood and called themselves cloven. A-and one of them, one of them,” he smiled in spite of himself. “One of them brought them together and made a stronghold called Clovenfast. After the war they c-came back to Anniera. The Maker healed them through a great sacrifice, and now they are human again. But they didn’t forget,” Artham looked down at his hands, eyes unfocused.

There was silence for several moments before Fiddleford spoke.  
“But they’re, they’re normal now,” he said quietly. “Are you sure they’d really want a reminder of all that?”  
Artham’s gaze refocused and he looked at his friend, head tilted to the side. “Well, if you’re truly worried, we could always ask the King.”  
A look of panic came into Fiddleford’s eyes and he shook his head. “Oh, that ain’t a good idea, I’m, there-there ain’t no king what’s gonna listen to me, I-I’m, y-you can’t…”  
Artham gently put a hand on his shoulder and Fiddleford stilled. Artham smiled gently at him. “It’s alright, Fiddleford, you’ve already met him.”  
“I-I have? Who- who is he then?”  
“I’ll take you to him.”

****

Artham peered into the children’s sitting room and smiled. He slipped inside and six curious faces looked up at him.

“Hello uncle Artham,” said Janner.  
“Hello Janner,” said Artham, smiling a little. “Would you mind if I borrowed Kalmar for a bit?”  
Before anyone else could respond, Kal had sprung to his feet, beaming up at his uncle. “Sure!”  
Janner rolled his eyes. “He just wants to get out of doing T.H.A.G.S..”  
“I really don’t know why you guys dislike this stuff, it’s pretty great,” said Dipper.  
“And I still don’t understand how schools don’t teach the Three Honored and Great Subjects,” said Janner, shaking his head.

Artham steered Kal out of the room as Dipper started to explain something called, “The public school system” and how it “lacked a decent arts program”. He shut the door behind him and led Kal down the hallway to his own room. As they walked in, he saw Fiddleford sitting where he’d left him, at the little tea table with his knees drawn up, looking worried. He sprang out of his seat when Artham and Kal entered, and the worried look on his face made Artham’s heart ache.

“Hi, Fiddleford,” said Kal. He looked back at Artham. “So what did you need me for?”  
Artham gently set his hands on his nephew’s shoulders. “Fiddleford, may I present to you the High King of Anniera.”  
Fiddleford stood frozen, blinking furiously as he tried to process that. Kalmar, for his part, sobered immediately.  
“What do you need me for?” Kal asked, craning his neck back to look up at Artham.  
Artham smiled a little. “Fiddleford has a question for you.”

Kal returned his attention to the nervous man in front of him.

“H-he’s the king?” Fiddleford asked, voice cracking.  
Artham nodded.

Kal walked up to him. They were nearly the same height, Kal was only an inch or two shorter. He smiled at Fiddleford. “It’s alright. What is it?”  
“Well, well, I…” Fiddleford stammered for a few moments, then fell silent, staring at the floor.   
Kal waited, rocking back and forth on his heels. When it became clear Fiddleford wasn’t going to say anything else, he spoke. “Did I ever tell you that I like your hat?”  
Fiddleford’s head came up. “Er, well, no.”  
“I like your hat,” said Kal. “Could I try it on?”  
“Well, sure, I suppose,” Fiddleford plucked off his hat and set it on Kal’s head.   
The boy grinned and folded his arms. “Now I look like grandpa.”  
Artham snorted.  
Kal stuck his hands on his hips. “Them thwaps had better get outta my garden!” he said, in an attempt at Podo’s voice. He turned and shook his finger at an imaginary thwap. “You get outta here, or I’ll toss you all over the cliffs and into the Dark Sea!”

Artham started laughing, and when he looked over he saw Fiddleford grinning too. Kal paraded around the room, shouting out comments in a rough, scratchy voice that sounded nothing like his grandfather until Artham’s laughter was joined by Fiddleford’s cackling.

Finally, Kal walked back over to them, looking triumphant. He plucked the hat off his head and handed it back to Fiddleford. “Your hat, sir,” he said with a bow.  
Fiddleford rewarded him with a crackly laugh. “You’re a silly little feller ain’t you?”  
“It’s my specialty,” said Kal, grinning. “So what did you want to ask me?”

Fiddleford looked nervous again, but he didn’t freeze this time. “Well, I guess,” he looked down. “I was wonderin’ if you’d let me come live here. I’ll understand if you say no, but it’s a real nice place here, and, well, I ain’t had anybody treat me as good as people here have for a long time,” he looked up quickly. “’Cept the Pines kids, a’course.”  
Kal smiled at him, but his eyes looked sad. “Of course you can stay, Fiddleford.”

Fiddleford stared at him openmouthed. “Really?”  
“Yeah! Anniera is open to everyone, so long as they mean her no harm,” said Kal.  
“Well I,” Fiddleford took off his glasses and rubbed at the tears forming in his eyes. “I can’t say as I deserve that, but thank you.”  
“Of course,” Kal put his hands on Fiddleford’s shoulders. “And you can stay in the castle.”  
Fiddleford blinked. “I-I can?”  
“Sure!” Kal grinned. “Maybe sometime you can even build me a robot.”

Fiddleford stared at him for a moment, then suddenly lunged forward, wrapped his arms around the boy and hugged him. “Well a’course I will! I’ll build you the best diddly-darn robot anyone’s ever seen!”  
Kal looked surprised, but he hugged him back. After a moment a smile took over his face and he squeezed Fiddleford gently. “I hope you’re happy here.”  
“I sure will be!” said Fiddleford, pulling back and absolutely beaming at him, tears still sparkling in his eyes. “You don’t know what this means to me, little feller.”  
Kal blinked back moisture in his own eyes. “I think I have an idea,” he said, quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I wasn't going to write quite this much for this chapter, but then I was like, "You know what, why shouldn't I illustrate what kind of king Kalmar is and also demonstrate his overwhelming compassion for people (especially those who are different), because that's something I love in the books?" Just, ugh, Kal's character development in books 3 and 4 is SO GOOD.  
> Anyway, I've now written a story where the Wingfeathers adopt Fiddleford McGucket ajfdahfskdjfgs


	19. There's no need to Say Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter!
> 
> Yes I did change the format of the title, it's because I listened to "The Call" by Regina Spektor while writing this. For maximum feels, listen to that while reading this.

Two small groups stood on the docks of Anniera in front of the Stan o’War II. It was about half an hour before the portal was set to open, plenty of time for them to say their goodbyes and sail out to the spot it was supposed to open, just beyond Anniera’s shores.

The Pines and Wingfeather children stared at each other, all five desperately holding back tears. Beyond them, watching each other and casting sad glances at each other and the children, were Stan, Ford, Podo, Nia, Artham and Fiddleford.

“Oh, I have something for you guys!” said Mabel, suddenly, breaking the sad silence and dashing to the bulging pack she had brought with her from Castle Rysen.

Carefully, she reached in and started pulling out packages wrapped in brown paper. She set half of them to the side and hurried over to the Wingfeather children, handing them each one.

The siblings unwrapped their packages and held up the contents.  
“They’re sweaters,” said Janner, blinking. His was dark green with a picture of a shield and a book on it.  
“Awesome!” Kal pulled his on over his clothes, despite the fact that it wasn’t terribly cold out. It was a dark red sweater with a picture of a blueberry tart wearing a crown.  
“They’re lovely, Mabel,” said Leeli, grinning. Hers was light blue, with a dog and a surprisingly accurate picture of a whistleharp.  
“I made them for everyone!” said Mabel, beaming. “So you’d never forget about us!” she picked up the rest of her packages and handed them out to the adults. “I also made one for Sara, and Aurendelle and Oskar!” she added, cheerfully.  
“That was very kind of you,” said Nia, smiling. She unwrapped her sweater and froze.

“Mabel dear,” said Nia, her voice shaking just a bit as she looked at the dark blue sweater with a picture of a bear on it. “Why did you…”  
“It’s because you’re like a mama bear!” said Mabel. “You’re nice unless something happens to your kids, then you’re scary!”  
Nia swallowed, and nodded. “I will treasure it,” she said quietly, pressing the sweater against her chest.

“You thought to put holes in mine,” said Artham, grinning a little as he held up a light purple sweater with a hawk on it.  
“Yeah, I couldn’t quite figure out how to make a sweater to fit over your wings,” said Mabel. “If I ever do I’ll make you another one.”  
“That’s very considerate,” said Artham, nodding.  
Fiddleford was just staring at the package he was holding. “I thought you already made me one of these,” he said, quietly.  
“I made you another one,” said Mabel.  
“You- you didn’t have to-”  
“I know!” Mabel grinned. “But I really, really like making sweaters for people,” she bounced back to her brother, smiling contentedly.

Podo chuckled. “Quite a niece you’ve got there.”  
“Yeah, she’s a piece of work,” agreed Stan, grinning.  
“I’m guessing you’ve got quite a few of these,” said Podo.  
“We have more sweaters than anyone could ever conceivably need,” agreed Ford. “It’s wonderful.”

Meanwhile, Artham reached down and picked up the pack he had brought with him and walked over to Mabel and Dipper.  
“And I,” he said, pulling out two packages. “Made these for you.”  
Mabel ripped the paper off hers and gasped with delight. “You made us sweaters too! That’s why you asked for my pattern!”  
Artham grinned. “Yes. Though I did change it a bit.”

Mabel’s sweater had stripes of pink, purple and blue running over it with a yellow spot in the middle, so it looked rather like a sunrise over the sea. Dipper’s sweater was blue with red sleeves, making it look similar to the shirt and vest he wore.  
“Wow,” said Dipper, looking it over. “I didn’t know you could knit. That’s pretty cool.”  
“Eeeeeeee!” Mabel squealed and hugged Artham. “Thank youuuuuu!”  
Artham chuckled and patted her head. “Now you won’t forget us either.”  
After Mabel released him, Artham walked back to the other adults and waited.

The five children stood staring at each other again. Finally, Janner coughed and pulled something out from behind his back.  
“I have something for you too,” he said, and handed Dipper a book.  
Dipper’s eyes widened. “This is the Creaturepedia!”  
Janner grinned. “It’s a copy Oskar gave me a while ago. I think you need it more than I do.”  
“Thank you,” said Dipper, sincerely.

Suddenly, Leeli lunged forward and hugged Mabel. “I’m gonna miss you so much!” she sobbed.  
Mabel hugged her back, tears dripping into Leeli’s hair. “I’m gonna miss you guys too.”

Janner offered his hand to Dipper. “It was really great to meet you. I don’t have a whole lot of friends my age, and the ones that are aren’t really, well,” he shrugged and smiled sadly. “Nerds, I guess.”  
“Haha, yeah,” Dipper took his hand. “Same- same here.”

Abruptly, Kal darted around and grabbed the twins, hugging them and in the process pulling his siblings in as well. “You guys are the best,” he said, his voice wavering. “You’ve got to come back and visit sometime, okay?”  
“I-I guess that’ll depend on if grunkle Ford ever lets us use that portal detector,” said Dipper.  
“Well, you kids won’t have to be worryin’ about that.”

They turned and saw Fiddleford standing there. He smiled at them and held out the portal detector to Dipper. “I’m givin’ this to you, not Stanford. You can do what you want with it, an’ come back whenever you want!”  
Dipper took it and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could Mabel had shot forward and hugged Fiddleford.  
“Thank you!” she said. “Thank you thank you thank you!”  
Fiddleford looked startled, but he recovered quickly. “Heh, you’re welcome. Couldn’t have you all gettin’ too sad.”

Fiddleford walked back over to the other adults. Ford sighed and shook his head. “I suppose I should have expected that.”  
Fiddleford shrugged. “I can make you one too, iffin you want.”  
“It’s alright,” said Ford. “I’m sure Dipper will let me borrow it,” he paused, and smiled sadly. “I hope you’ll be happy here, Fiddleford.”  
“And I hope you’ll be happy off on your adventures!” his friend replied, grinning. “Come visit sometime!”  
Ford chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure we will.”

“Alright, kids, we need to be gettin’ out of here!” called Stan. He looked back at Podo. “Take care of yourself old timer.”  
“Aye, you too,” Podo patted him on the shoulder. “And look after those children. They’re somethin’ special.”  
“So’re yours,” said Stan, resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

The Pines and the Wingfeather families stood together and faced each other.   
“May the wind in your sails be fair,” said Nia.  
“And may the Maker be with you wherever you go,” said Kalmar.

The Pines climbed aboard the Stan o’War II and cast off. Dipper and Mabel stood on the deck, waving furiously as their friends grew smaller. 

Suddenly, there was a bright flash above the sea. When it faded, the Stan o’War II was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a headcanon that Artham can knit and that's where he got all his socks when he was Peet.
> 
> As I said, there will be one more chapter after this. I'm also planning to write up some bits I couldn't fit into the flow of this story and will be posting those, so keep an eye out for them!


	20. I'll come back when you call me (Epilogue)

Two weeks later, Dipper and Mabel lay curled up in their beds, asleep, moonlight shining through the window of their attic.

Suddenly, Dipper’s watch started beeping. Both children sat up in bed, rubbing their eyes. Then, they looked at each other and smiled.  
“It should open any minute,” said Dipper, pulling on his shoes. Both of them had slept in their clothes.  
“I can’t wait!” squealed Mabel, clutching her backpack full of glitter and other art supplies.  
Dipper grinned and pulled on his own backpack. The two of them stood in the middle of the room and held hands, waiting.

The air in front of them started to shimmer, and energy pulsed out from it. The twins looked at each other.  
“Ready?” asked Dipper.  
“Let’s do it!” cheered Mabel.

The two children stepped into the portal. They were momentarily blinded, and when the light dissolved they saw that they were standing under the starlight, within sight of Castle Rysen.

“Yes!” Mabel shot towards it, dragging Dipper with her before he could protest. They scrambled through one of the holes in the wall around the castle and hurried inside. When they reached the hallway containing their friend’s bedrooms, they paused.  
“You get Janner, I’ll get Kal and Leeli,” said Mabel, dashing off.  
Dipper shook his head and opened the door to Janner’s room.

Mabel flung open the door to Leeli’s room and ran inside. “Leeli! Leeli wake up!” she said, eagerly, shaking her friend gently.  
Leeli blinked awake, frowning. “Mabel?”  
“Yes!” Mabel beamed at her.  
Leeli sat up, her eyes wide. Then she grabbed Mabel and hugged her. “You came back!”  
Mabel laughed, “Yeah! Wanna help me wake up Kalmar?”  
Leeli grinned. “Ohhh yes!” she sprang off the bed and they hurried into Kal’s room.

“On three,” said Mabel, walking around to one side of Kal’s bed while Leeli stood ready on the other.  
“One,”  
“Two,”  
“THREE!”

The girls sprang onto the unsuspecting Kalmar. He yelped and thrashed as they crashed into him.  
“Wha-what’s going on?! Gerroff me!” he tried to shove them away, but frowned as they started giggling and laughing. “Wait, Leeli?”  
“Aaaand,” Leeli pointed to Mabel.  
Kal looked and his mouth dropped open. Then, he lunged for Mabel and tackle-hugged her. “MABEL!”

The force of his hug knocked the two of them to the ground, and for good measure Leeli tumbled after them, giggling hysterically.

Dipper and Janner stood in the doorway, staring at them. They looked at each other and raised an eyebrow in unison.  
“Well,” said Janner. “If you can’t beat ‘em…”  
“Join ‘em,” finished Dipper.

The boys grinned at each other, then dove into the pile of their siblings, laughing and tussling.

And they laughed and talked until the sun came up, and had many wonderful adventures together, for the rest of their long lives.

The End   
Or, rather,   
The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to keep this short, sweet, and to the point, it just seemed better that way. :)
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this weird story, I certainly enjoyed writing it. :D Keep an eye out for my additional Wingfeather Falls short stories!


End file.
